Keywords

Higher education; blended courses; online courses; outcome oriented evaluation

Abstract

Devry University, a private for-profit higher education institution, generates its revenue exclusively by students* tuition. In addition, DeVry University offers courses via two modalities: blended and online. Unfortunately, Devry University has seen its student enrollments decline over the last few years. Because of lower student enrollment levels, DeVry University has had to limit its course offerings. The problem of practice addressed in this dissertation is an insufficient number of blended course offerings for current DeVry students. To remedy this problem, an initiative was started at DeVry University to address the insufficient number of blended course offerings and to pilot a new course modality, cross-listed (C-L) courses, in the March 2014 session at four campus locations. More specifically, this initiative involved offering several sections of CIS115 (Logic and Design with Lab) in its C-L modality. C-L courses combine students registered in more than one modality: in this case, blended and online modalities. Upon completion of the pilot offering of C-L courses, an evaluation was conducted to determine if the new C-L modality had a positive impact on addressing the stated problem of practice. This evaluation used an outcome-oriented post-test only design with non-equivalent groups (quasi-experiment) coupled with qualitative components. The quasi-experiment compares outcomes of students enrolled in C-L courses (the treatment group) with students enrolled in blended and online courses (comparison groups) using post-achievement data. The results of the evaluation revealed that students who completed the C-L CIS115 courses performed as well as students who completed blended or online CIS115 courses, considering their course satisfaction levels and course outcomes. Professors* perceptions of the C-L modality were also analyzed; results indicate that professors are willing to endorse the new modality but not without suggesting some improvements. The evaluation also revealed that there was an increase in the number of blended courses offered at DeVry University campuses, suggesting that the problem of practice may be addressed by this initiative. Recommendations for further studies include repeating the pilot offering in the C-L modality, with the inclusion of professors* suggestions for improvement identified in this study. These improvements include providing campus-based professors with an ability to broadcast and record their classroom lectures for the benefit of all students enrolled in C-L courses.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2015

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Hopp, Carolyn

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Education and Human Performance

Degree Program

Education

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0005884

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0005884

Language

English

Release Date

August 2016

Length of Campus-only Access

1 year

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Education and Human Performance; Education and Human Performance -- Dissertations, Academic

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