Need to cite your sources. Who is it that is actually saying this and what is their source? "Studies show..." is one of those vague sorts of things. Tom Nixon
Not knowing the source or context, I would think this represents a difference between those that live on campus vs those that live off campus. I don' t see anything in the quote that would lead one to think it is comparing living on campus with distance learning.
Re: Re: Distance Learning...Umm? Actually they need to reference sources. None are given on the site.
actually people who are pursuing DL degrees are the ones who are more motivated. If not then, why would one devote time and money to a DL degree when the same is spent better with the family, vacation... etc..
I am not aware of any studies comparing those who live on campus with distance learning students. The studies mentioned may be comparisons of student who live in dorms with those who commute to campus. As far as tending to be "more involved", that is likely true. I am skeptical of the other claims and would need to see the data. Tony Pina Coordinator of Learning Technologies Northeastern Illinois University
I agree, Stock. To pursue my education via distance learning I have to give up much of the spare time I once enjoyed. Hell, even watching an hour of television these days is difficult. Anyone who earns a degree via distance learning needs to be highly motivated because it is so easy to get distracted otherwise and then not finish. I wonder what the average GPA is for distance learners versus on-campus students at the Associate, Bachelor, and Master levels?
Interesting study... The most methodologically sound and accurate study on the effectiveness of online instruction was conducted by Gerald Schutte at California State University, Northridge (McCollum, 1997). In his study, Schutte randomly divided his statistics class into two groups. One attended class as usual, listening to lectures, handing in homework assignments, and taking examinations and the other took an online version of the course, completing assignments on a World Wide Web site, posting questions and comments to an electronic discussion list, and meeting with their professor in an Internet chat room. After an orientation session, students in the virtual class went to Dr. Schutte's classroom only for their midterm and final exams. On both tests, Dr. Schutte found, the wired students outscored their traditional counterparts by an average of twenty percent. Eli Ph.D. - Touro University International
My GPA at Augusta College (now Augusta State University), Augusta, GA was 3.5. I was in graduate school and attended classes on campus. My GPA at California College for Health Sciences was 3.4. This was a master's program and all via distance learning. After I finish the M. Min. degree entirely via distance at Temple (should I enroll), I will make the GPA comparisons between them and Earlham School of Religion where all classes were taken on campus.
That discussion is clearly comparing traditional students living on campus to traditional students living off campus. I'd like to see those studies myself since my own unscientific observation is that students who live on campus may well be more involved in campus activities but are poorly prepared for the realities of life in the real world. IMHO, students who live on campus are prepared only slightly better than those who live with mom and dad. They are not nearly as prepared as those who have had to negotiate responsibilities beyond the campus. That said, it's obvious that those who have no responsibilities beyond campus life should perform better than their peers who must fend for themselves each evening and weekend. Unfortunately, my observation is also that the added level of maturity gained by the off-campus crowd tends to improve their in-class performance as well. Just my opinions, for what they're worth.
The first day at EBS Professor Lumsden was talking about the history of the EBS DL MBA. While he was teaching at Stanford they did an experiment with an MBA class. (Professor Kennedy can correct me if I don't recall this correctly.) Half the class they put through the regular on-campus program. The other half they gave them all the textbooks, homework and assignments and were told to study on their own. At the end of the program both groups were compared based on test scores. There was no significant difference. They wondered if there would be a difference in retention so a year after graduation they were testing again. No significant difference. They tested them again 3 years later. No difference, but from the low test scores you couldn't tell that either group went through an MBA program! So there you have it. Doesn't matter if on-campus or DL is better. After a few years, we will forget it all anyway!
I have emailed Delta State requesting a reference for those studies. I will let you know their reply.
Re: Re: Re: Distance Learning...Umm? Actually, this would be a worthwhile topic for anyone doing his/her doctorate with an emphasis in student support services. It would certainly expand the exisiting knowledge based (the purpose for a dissertation). Tony Pina Northeastern Illinois University
This reference.... on campus living as opposed to off campus living. It does not refer to DL and is an oft cited statistic used to encourage kids to live on campus. One article I saw actually said that freshment living off-campus (usually at home) do better than on campus freshmen but that it trends the other way later. No study was mentioned. UNCC's housing site said it was from a survey of their student's grades....
Regardless of the reference issue... ...what gets my attention here is this last phrase from the quote. It leads me to believe the comparison IS between traditional students and D/L students. How in the world could an on-campus student be "more marketable" than a student that lives in an apartment three blocks from the university entrance? We all know that one of the biggest challenges facing distance learners is the seemingly weaker marketing strength of our degrees, so this part of the quote should jump out at us. I don't see how a hiring manager is going to ask me if I lived on-campus or off-campus, but I do anticipate questions about being an online student.
Regardless of the reference issue... ...what gets my attention here is this last phrase from the quote. It leads me to believe the comparison IS between traditional students and D/L students. How in the world could an on-campus student be "more marketable" than a student that lives in an apartment three blocks from the university entrance? We all know that one of the biggest challenges facing distance learners is the seemingly weaker marketing strength of our degrees, so this part of the quote should jump out at us. I don't see how a hiring manager is going to ask me if I lived on-campus or off-campus, but I do anticipate questions about being an online student. Therefore, I think the source of the quote is talking about D/L degrees because the on-campus/off-campus debate seems absurd to me. Besides, many universities don't have enough dormitory space to accommodate all of their students on campus...do those that are forced to live off-campus get some sort of compensation from the school for their lost marketability due to the school's shortcomings?
