Relationship between grades earned and time in online courses

Abstract

Online education is rapidly becoming a significant method of course delivery in higher education. Consequently, instructors analyze student performance in an attempt to better scaffold student learning. Learning analytics can provide insight into online students’ course behaviors. Archival data from 167 graduate level education students enrolled in 4 different programs and 9 different online courses were analyzed to determine whether a relationship existed between grades earned and time spent in specific areas within the course: total course time, course modules, document repository, and synchronous online sessions. Time spent in each component did not predict a specific letter grade, but did predict whether or not an A would be achieved. The sample was composed of students from four different graduate education programs: Educational Leadership, Reading, Instructional Design, and Special Education. Variations found among programs did not significantly predict the grade earned in the course. A logistic regression revealed that of all the predictor variables, time spent in synchronous online sessions alone showed as a significant predictor of receiving an A in the course. This is important information for instructors when providing scaffolding for students.