They also tended to have higher past academic records including standardized test scores such as the SAT Verbal and Math and previous semester and accumulative GPA's than oncampus students. Both groups of students registered for their respective sociology courses to fulfill requirements and because it sounded interesting and fit into their schedules. Web-based students were more likely to have a computer in their home at the time of taking the course, but tended to have less experience working with computers in the home. Student performance on course requirements differed significantly on examinations with web-based students doing better than oncampus students, but performance on papers did not vary significantly. The difference in performance on examinations could be explained by the longer length of time allowed for the web-based students to complete their examinations.
Future research needs to resolve the issue of length of time for the examinations.
It is now feasible to administer timed examinations for online students so that the courses are more comparable. Further analysis should also determine the relative impact that significant demographic, academic backgrounds, and experience with computing might have on student performance with the use of web-based instruction. What is seemingly apparent and noteworthy, however, is that the web-based instruction as designed for this online class does not deliver a substandard course when compared to the very same class which is taught oncampus in a traditional classroom.