The Impact Of Course Length On Online Numeric-Based Course Grades

Abstract

When offering online classes, it is necessary to ensure that all course material and objectives will be covered and learners will be successful in the course. This becomes especially important when the same class material and objectives are offered in a three-, five-, and fourteen-week format. This paper outlines the difficulty of delivering online classes such as algebra, accounting, and other courses that involve mathematical calculations over varying time frames. The author of this paper has served on the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) University Wide Distance Education Committee that has investigated and studied their online course offerings in detail. While the author does not teach numeric-based classes, he teaches within the Eberly College of Business where many of these numeric-based courses are offered. The intent of this paper is to identify if there is a difference between letter grades based on the course length within numeric-based classes.