Is There an Optimal Design for On-Line MBA Courses?

Abstract

While there is an increasing body of literature on the effectiveness of on-line courses, studies on the effects of factors predicting Web-based course success over time are limited. I consider the effects of technological characteristics, the pedagogical structure of courses, and their relationship to student learning and satisfaction with the Internet as a course delivery medium in hopes of identifying a framework for Web-based course design that on-line MBA programs and individual faculty members might apply to their courses and be reasonably effective even if they are new to teaching on-line. My results suggest that a framework of selecting an on-line course software platform that students perceive to be both useful and easy to use, using a variety of media on the course Website, promoting the “any time, anywhere” aspects of the learning environment, and encouraging participant interaction is positively associated with effective course outcomes for Web-based courses.