CLASS SECTION SIZE, PERCEIVED CLASSROOM CHARACTERISTICS, INSTRUCTOR EXPERIENCE, AND STUDENT LEARNING AND SATISFACTION WITH WEB-BASED COURSES: A STUDY AND COMPARISON OF TWO ON-LINE MBA PROGRAMS.

This paper reports on one of the first multi-institution studies of web-based graduate business education courses. The study examines and compares two on-line MBA programs with respect to course and instructor characteristics and student perceptions of learning and satisfaction. The primary difference between the two programs is that one program conducts their courses entirely on-line while the other conducts their courses primarily on-line blended with typically one or two on-site class meetings. The results of the study showed that the perceived flexibility of the delivery medium and prior instructor experience with web-based courses were strongly positively associated with student learning and student satisfaction with a course, while class section size was strongly negatively associated with learning and satisfaction with a course. Perceived flexibility was also strongly significantly associated with satisfaction with the delivery medium. Post hoc comparisons showed that the school with the entirely on-line program scored significantly higher on most of the variables used in the study. These findings suggest a number of potential implications. Some of these implications include that given enough experience, these programs may not require face to face contact to provide a positive learning experience, and that program directors should ensure that new instructors get to gain experience with relatively smaller class sections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]