Abstract:

This study examines the overall views of undergraduate students’ experiences with online business education at a large, public mid-Atlantic business school. Results of the study reveal that important differences in the student experience exist for each of four subgroups of students.

Recommendations for overall improvement in the online experience as well as targeted approaches for the subgroups are presented.

The few studies examining the online experience for the student, present overall findings and recommendations for best practices. By addressing the possible differences between groups of students, this study compares the overall online experiences of undergraduate business students (n=176) with important differences found within four different segments of students. The overall and group segment findings are used to recommend online best overall practices and targeted approaches for each of the four types of students.

Overall Analysis:
Factor analysis of twenty-nine features of the online experience shows that four factors explained 86% of the variance of the respondents. These factors and their percentage of explained variance are listed below:
1. Site Structure, Navigation, Instructions, Grading and Workload Expectations (61%)
2. Deliverables and Group work (13%)
3. Exams and Course Resources (6%)
4. Instructor Accessibility and Feedback (4%)

Regression analysis revealed that Factor 1 explained 72% of the variance in student satisfaction with the online course.

As a follow-up, step-wise regression analysis of all twenty-nine features of the online experience showed "I have learned practical knowledge that I can apply in the real world" explained 82% of variance in course satisfaction.

Segmentation Analysis:
To examine the data to identify potential differences in groups of online learners, SPSS Decision Tree analysis showed that "My Learning Style and Study Strategies Were Supported in this Course" (MLS) identified four unique groups of learners:
1. MLS Agnostics (9.5%).
2. Group Appreciators (23.8%).
3. MLS Middlers (4.8%).
4. MLS Extremers (61.9%).

Demographics differences across the four groups are included in the final version of the paper, to include the roles of technical support issues, gender, age, scholastic level and outside employment.

Best Practices Implications:
Our study shows that best practices for online education differs depending on whether educators focus on an overall, unsegmented solution or use a targeted approach. A "One-for-All" un-segmented approach will focus primarily on "Site Structure, Navigation, Instructions, Grading and Workload Expectations" and coursework that emphasizes practical knowledge applied in the real world.

Alternatively, a best practices approach that focuses on important sub-groups, a "Segmentation Approach", will target each of the learning needs of four groups: MLS Agnostics who require superior lecture videos for course satisfaction; Group Appreciators who require peer support for group projects; and MLS Middlers and MLS Extremers who appreciate courses where "My Learning Style and Study Strategies Were Supported in this Course".

This paper concludes with an exploration of what comprises superior development of five elements of online education: (1) site structure, navigation, instructions, grading and workload expectations, (2) practical learning content, (3) lecture videos, (4) group support, and (5) learning style and study strategies.

Keywords:

Online Education, Student Experience, Learner Segmentation.