This retrospective study presents a comparison of assessment results achieved by distancelearning students and classroom-based students undertaking the same module in a degree course. The purpose of the comparison is to provide some objective measurement of the quality of distance education in relation to conventional classroom-based education. The authors have selected three groups of students, who have all undertaken the same module in the B. Sc Health Studies degree programme offered by the University of Paisley. One group (in Paisley) In the United Kingdom, the university with the highest number of students is a distance education university (HESA, 2000). The higher education sector can clearly deliver Alt-J Volume 10 Number I distance education. However, in the current ideological and financial drive towards increasing the distance education component of higher education, one of the key questions is this: is the quality of the distance education offered in higher education equivalent to the quality of its classroom-based education? This paper reports a study carried out in the University of Paisley, which attempts to shed some light on this question. It makes a specific comparison of the results achieved by classroom-based students and distance-learning students undertaking the same degree course. All the students under comparison study the same module material and undertake identical assessments. But they study in different modes and in different locations in the world: some based on the campus in the town of Paisley and undertaking the course by conventional classroom-based learning; others geographically dispersed -with the majority living in Hong Kong -and accessing the course by distance learning. One indicator of the quality of learning and teaching is the results that students achieve in assessable coursework. Accordingly we have phrased our research question in the following terms: do post-registration nurses studying by distance learning achieve the same assessment results as colleagues undertaking the same module by conventional classroom-based study? Comparing distance education and classroom education Peterson (2001) states that scholars of distance learning fall into two main camps. The first camp argues that distance learning is an opportunity for those that could not usually attend university to participate in tertiary education; that it promotes lifelong learning; and that 'the experience of an online course can be as rich and fulfilling as the experience of a traditional course'. They argue that more diverse populations of students with different learning styles can benefit from online courses. The second camp argues that in distance learning the focus is on teaching rather than on learning, and that the claims of flexibility are not reflected in present distance learning courses. They argue that students are frustrated, not just by the feelings of isolation but by lack of feedback from their teachers and difficulty in understanding written instructions given to them (Peterson, 2001) . Ng (2001) highlights a number of issues relating to problems of delivering distance learning. He noted that social cohesion with the group of students was not good and that communication between students was limited and focused mainly on personal rather than academic issues. Several students in his study felt anxiety about using electronic (email) communication. Edwards, Hugo, Cragg and Peterson (1999) assert that 'research generally shows no significant difference in educational outcomes [that is, course achievement and satisfaction with instruction] between courses taught through distance education and those offered in the regular classroom'. Such a conclusion is a typical one from the research looking at differences in educational outcomes associated with conventional classroom-based education and distance education. The issue of 'significant difference' is one that Russell (1999 ) and McGreal (2002 have both tackled by assembling annotated bibliographies of comparative research studies. The authors of this present study have carried out a meta-analysis of thirty-seven studies that specifically deal with online education and which are reported in either Russell's No Table 1 . This meta-analysis shows that most studies have focused on academic performance as their means of comparing the effectiveness of online distance education with conventional classroom-based education. The majority (16 studies out of 31) have found that there is no significant difference in the academic performance of online students when compared with on-campus students. However, a significant number of studies (13 out of 31) find that students in online courses outperform conventional students in terms of academic performance measured by examinations. A majority of studies found that the quality of learning and the participation in learning is also higher in distance education. In the area of student satisfaction, the picture is reversed. A significant number of studies (four out of seven) report that the on-campus students are more satisfied with their courses than the online students.
REF report that students who have undertaken a degree by distance learning obtained significantly higher average marks than those who have undertaken it on campus.
Comparing distance education and conventional education: Observations from a comparative study of post‐registration nurses
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