April 2001 — Features
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A Comparison Between a Distance and a Traditional Graduate Accounting Class
The required effort is methodical and logical. Problem sets are assigned and solution sets are used to allow the students to see how well they are progressing. An example of a course that might not be a good candidate for distance education delivery is an acting class or a biology class. This is not to say these classes can not be offered via distance education, but the required technology would be more complex than with the accounting course. As described above, the technology used for the distance students provided an environment conducive t'effective learning in this course.
The Research Project
This study analyzed the performance of two class sections in an introductory graduate level accounting course in the fall semester of 1999. One section was a traditional, campus-based class taught in the conventional face-to-face lecture mode. The other section was taught in a distance education format. In the distance class, the students had no face-to-face contact with each other or the instructor. The distance students could communicate via telephone, e-mail, threaded bulletin board discussions and synchronous chat technologies. Except for the textbook, the distance class received all material for the course over the Internet. The distance section received supplemental administrative and course information, e.g., solutions to assigned problems, via the Web. These materials were distributed to the campus-based students during class.
To enhance comparability, the same text, syllabus, assignments and examinations were used in both classes. The professor (who has over 12 years of experience teaching accounting) taught both sections.
The traditional section met once a week over a 17-week semester. Each class lasted two and a half hours. During class, approximately half of the time was spent presenting and explaining material from the text; the remaining class time was used to go over the assigned homework problems.
The distance section never formally met during the same 17-week period. In an effort to provide more of a "class" feeling, the students and instructor placed profiles on the class Web site. These profiles were intended to give a personal and professional perspective of the individuals. They included information such as work history, family history, favorite hobbies, geographic location, and other miscellaneous information that may help give a sense of who the student is. Many participants uploaded a picture to give others more of an idea of who they are.
Sample Class Demographics
At the start of the semester, the students were asked a series of questions designed to provide some background material. The three relevant questions for this study are the following: 1) how many graduate hours have you completed prior to this course? 2) How many accounting hours have you completed prior to this course? 3) How many years of work experience do you have?
The online and in-class students were similar regarding the number of prior graduate hours and the number of years of work experience. The finding of no significant difference in years of work experience is at odds with that of Dominguez and Ridley (1999).
