Transactional Distance and Student Ratings in Online College Courses

Abstract

Student ratings were compared in courses offered either exclusively online (n = 13,416) or face-to-face (n = 5,272). Data from 105 institutions were accessed from archived files of the IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction system. If a course was taught online, the instructor was less likely to lecture and more likely to use discussion, especially in hard disciplines. A course was less likely to have been taught online if the instructor was rated high in establishing rapport and if the course was within hard and pure disciplines. A high rating on structuring classroom experiences and expecting students to share in responsibility for learning increased the odds the course was offered online. However, high ratings on stimulating student interest and student effort in the course made it less likely. Results are discussed with respect to transactional distance elements of dialogue, structure, and learner autonomy.

Notes

¹We are grateful to an anonymous reviewer for suggesting the Theory of Transactional Distance for this manuscript.

²A higher percentage of associate's and bachelor's level institutions were represented in the face-to-face (42.2%) than online (32.2%) groups. A greater percentage of online classes (34.8%) came from institutions offering degrees beyond the master's degree compared with 23.9% of face-to-face classes. The percentage of students enrolled in graduate/professional classes was somewhat higher for online (26.1%) than face-to-face (15.3%). Although none of these differences is large, they should be kept in mind when interpreting the results.

³ http://www.theideacenter.org/sites/default/files/Student-Ratings_Faculty_Information_Form.pdf

⁴ http://www.theideacenter.org/sites/default/files/Student_Ratings_Diagnostic_Form.pdf