Course Convenience, Perceived Learning, and Course Satisfaction across Course Formats.

Abstract Students' desire for course convenience may lead to their preference for online courses. But in their desire for convenience, are students sacrificing satisfaction or perceived learning? This article investigates the moderating impact of course format on the relationship between convenience and both perceived learning and satisfaction. Moderated regression analysis of over 1100 student students in online, blended, and face-to-face course formats shows that students in all course formats value convenience similarly. Post hoc analysis shows a moderating effect of hours worked in employment on the convenience-perceived learning relationship rather than course format. We conclude that making courses more convenient is a critical factor in satisfaction and perceived learning, but that this effect is not accomplished by merely offering online courses. Keywords: Course convenience; perceived learning; course satisfaction; course format; undergraduate capstone course; service convenience. JEL Classification: M10 PsycINFO Classification: 3530 FoR Code:1301;1503; 1505 ERA Journal ID#: 35696 Introduction Students' increasing use of 'instant' media and access to the Internet have changed some of their expectations for course delivery from face-to-face to online. Also, pressure on higher education institutions to increase efficiency have greatly accelerated the development of online courses (Miles, 2014; Wooten & Hancock, 2009). Allen and Seaman (2015) found from a comprehensive survey that 70.8 percent of institutions consider online learning a critical component of their educational strategy. Students' desire for convenience may be driving this reliance on online courses, but it is not clear if students are choosing online and its convenience at the expense of course satisfaction and perceived learning. We address these issues by analyzing the impact of course format on students' perceptions of the convenience-course satisfaction and the the convenience-perceived learning relationships. We are studying course convenience in part because pressures facing administrators. They feel the need to compete with online degree programs in order to avoid loss of market share. Pressure for online courses comes in part from students who need to balance work, family and school responsibilities (Albert & Johnson, 2011; Leonard & Guha, 2001). Students may also link convenience with overall institutional quality. At the department level, students often use course convenience as a criterion for selecting one course over another. Thus, convenience is becoming an important dimension of institutions' enrollment management strategy. As experienced educators, we wonder whether our students' choices are anchored in something deeper. In what way, and on what dimensions, do learners associate course convenience with learning and satisfaction? Or are they valuing convenience out of necessity? If the latter, then we suspect that educational standards may be at risk. Alternatively, convenience may associate with learning and satisfaction, which suggests that faculty and administration put a premium on convenience in curricular offerings. The relationships of course convenience with perceived learning and course satisfaction, especially across course formats, is rarely considered. Service convenience has attracted the focus of research in service industry (Berry, Seiders, & Grewal, 2002), but application of this theory to higher education is limited to a couple of theoretical papers (Collier, Ponder, & White, 2007; Harry, Collier, Ponder, & White, 2010). In this article, we empirically apply this model to higher education and extend it to multiple course formats. Study of the impact of course convenience on students' assessments of course satisfaction and learning advances our understanding of students; choice of curricular offerings. …