John McGready1, Ron Brookmeyer. 1. Department of Biostatistics, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. jmcgread@jhsph.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To compare student outcomes between concurrent online and on-campus sections of an introductory biostatistics course offered at a United States school of public health in 2005. METHODS: Enrolled students (95 online, 92 on-campus) were invited to participate in a confidential online survey. The course outcomes were compared between the two sections adjusting for differences in student characteristics. RESULTS: Seventy-two online (76%) and 66 (72%) on-campus enrollees participated. Unadjusted final exam scores for the online and on-campus sections were respectively 85.1 and 86.3 (p=0.50) in term 1, and 87.8 and 86.8 (p=0.51) in term 2. After adjustment for student characteristics, the average difference in scores between the two sections was -1.5 (95% CI: -5.4, 2.5) in term 1, and 0.8 (95% CI: -2.7, 4.3) in term 2. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate that online and on-campus course formats of an introductory biostatistics course in a graduate school of public health can achieve similar student outcomes.
OBJECTIVE: To compare student outcomes between concurrent online and on-campus sections of an introductory biostatistics course offered at a United States school of public health in 2005. METHODS: Enrolled students (95 online, 92 on-campus) were invited to participate in a confidential online survey. The course outcomes were compared between the two sections adjusting for differences in student characteristics. RESULTS: Seventy-two online (76%) and 66 (72%) on-campus enrollees participated. Unadjusted final exam scores for the online and on-campus sections were respectively 85.1 and 86.3 (p=0.50) in term 1, and 87.8 and 86.8 (p=0.51) in term 2. After adjustment for student characteristics, the average difference in scores between the two sections was -1.5 (95% CI: -5.4, 2.5) in term 1, and 0.8 (95% CI: -2.7, 4.3) in term 2. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate that online and on-campus course formats of an introductory biostatistics course in a graduate school of public health can achieve similar student outcomes.
Authors: Natasa M Milic; Goran Z Trajkovic; Zoran M Bukumiric; Andja Cirkovic; Ivan M Nikolic; Jelena S Milin; Nikola V Milic; Marko D Savic; Aleksandar M Corac; Jelena M Marinkovic; Dejana M Stanisavljevic Journal: PLoS One Date: 2016-02-09 Impact factor: 3.240