Analysis of academic performance in continuing education programs: An evaluation of synchronous and asynchronous online platform usage

Veronica Jara-Troncoso; Cristian Saavedra-Acuna; Monica Quezada-Espinoza

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: CPDD Technical Session 2 - Trends in Student and Faculty Support
Page Count: 15
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41363
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/41363
Download Count: 423

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Paper Authors

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Veronica Jara-Troncoso Universidad Andres Bello

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Veronica Jara-Troncoso is a professor at the School of Engineering of the Universidad Andres Bello in Santiago, Chile. Veronica holds a Business Administration degree and a Master's in Industrial Engineering. She teaches organizational leadership, economics, and job skills development. Currently, Veronica collaborates with the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Academy of the same university. Her research interests are continuity of studies, innovation, business skills development, entrepreneurship, and organizational management.

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Cristian Saavedra-Acuna Universidad Andres Bello

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Cristian Saavedra is an assistant professor at the School of Engineering at the University Andres Bello in Concepcion, Chile. He holds a bachelorâ€™s degree in Electronics Engineering and a masterâ€™s degree in Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurshi

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Monica Quezada-Espinoza Universidad Andres Bello

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Monica Quezada-Espinoza is a professor and researcher at the School of Engineering at the Universidad Andres Bello in Santiago, Chile, where currently collaborates with the Educational and Academic Innovation Unit, UNIDA (for its acronym in Spanish), as an instructor in active learning methodologies. Her research interest topics involve university education in STEM areas, faculty and continuing professional development, research-based methodologies, community engagement projects, evaluation tools and technology, and gender issues in STEM education. https://orcid.org/0000- 0002-0383-0179

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Abstract

Important advances in information and communication technologies in the last few decades, specifically given the emergence of the Internet, led to conceiving and developing e-learning platforms. Rapid diversification in online teaching environments ensued, where synchronous and asynchronous modalities became differentiated. The appearance of these modalities has facilitated further specialization aspirations by adult students, while also fulfilling their work commitments. In these last two years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has seen online education become a vital resource in furthering academic activity in the majority of educational centers in the world. Traditional face-to-face classes were adapted as much as possible to a synchronous virtual environment, where students and teachers go to virtual meetings for classroom related activities. Thus the teacher has an opportunity for direct student interaction. They can take advantage of various synchronous technologies, including slideshows, raising their (virtual) hand for special attention, public and private chatrooms, desktop sharing, whiteboard sharing, and more. While asynchronous e-learning is where the student self-regulates their learning, their times and progress, as under this modality the contents of the course are uploaded onto a platform, as well as uploading a return schedule for deliverables, including activities and evaluations. So the interaction with the student becomes asynchronous, through tools such as the forum or in work feedback tools. In some cases, there are optional online (synchronous) meeting sessions with a teacher to clarify doubts or further comment specific issues. At the University where this study was carried out, continuing education students can choose any of the above modalities for industrial engineering programs, unlike regular students, whose only option is synchronous classes. The format of the continuing education program (which is known as the Advance study program) is a shorter and continuos university degree, when compared to the traditional one. Students who enroll in an Advanced study program already have work experience, a professional degree and prior knowledge, all of which has been validated and recognized by the University. This means that they can obtain an industrial engineering degree in an accelerated manner, taking only 2 or 3 years, comparing favourably with the 4 or 5 years a regular program would take, plus supported by an accredited university in Chile and in the United States. The present work analyses if the type of modality, synchronous or asynchronous, bears influence on the academic performance of students in the Advance study program. Variables involved in analysing academic performance are average grades, percentage of assignments failed, and overall dropout rate. The sample is made up of 1,021 students enrolled in the Advance Industrial Engineering program in both modalities, synchronous or asynchronous. A variance analysis reveals there are no statistically significant differences in academic performance between students from either group under analysis.

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Jara-Troncoso, V., & Saavedra-Acuna, C., & Quezada-Espinoza, M. (2022, August), Analysis of academic performance in continuing education programs: An evaluation of synchronous and asynchronous online platform usage Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41363

TY - CPAPER
AB - Important advances in information and communication technologies in the last few decades, specifically given the emergence of the Internet, led to conceiving and developing e-learning platforms. Rapid diversification in online teaching environments ensued, where synchronous and asynchronous modalities became differentiated. The appearance of these modalities has facilitated further specialization aspirations by adult students, while also fulfilling their work commitments. In these last two years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has seen online education become a vital resource in furthering academic activity in the majority of educational centers in the world. Traditional face-to-face classes were adapted as much as possible to a synchronous virtual environment, where students and teachers go to virtual meetings for classroom related activities. Thus the teacher has an opportunity for direct student interaction. They can take advantage of various synchronous technologies, including slideshows, raising their (virtual) hand for special attention, public and private chatrooms, desktop sharing, whiteboard sharing, and more. While asynchronous e-learning is where the student self-regulates their learning, their times and progress, as under this modality the contents of the course are uploaded onto a platform, as well as uploading a return schedule for deliverables, including activities and evaluations. So the interaction with the student becomes asynchronous, through tools such as the forum or in work feedback tools. In some cases, there are optional online (synchronous) meeting sessions with a teacher to clarify doubts or further comment specific issues. At the University where this study was carried out, continuing education students can choose any of the above modalities for industrial engineering programs, unlike regular students, whose only option is synchronous classes. The format of the continuing education program (which is known as the Advance study program) is a shorter and continuos university degree, when compared to the traditional one. Students who enroll in an Advanced study program already have work experience, a professional degree and prior knowledge, all of which has been validated and recognized by the University. This means that they can obtain an industrial engineering degree in an accelerated manner, taking only 2 or 3 years, comparing favourably with the 4 or 5 years a regular program would take, plus supported by an accredited university in Chile and in the United States.
The present work analyses if the type of modality, synchronous or asynchronous, bears influence on the academic performance of students in the Advance study program. Variables involved in analysing academic performance are average grades, percentage of assignments failed, and overall dropout rate. The sample is made up of 1,021 students enrolled in the Advance Industrial Engineering program in both modalities, synchronous or asynchronous. A variance analysis reveals there are no statistically significant differences in academic performance between students from either group under analysis.

AU - Veronica Jara-Troncoso
AU - Cristian Saavedra-Acuna
AU - Monica Quezada-Espinoza
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Analysis of academic performance in continuing education programs: An evaluation of synchronous and asynchronous online platform usage
UR - https://peer.asee.org/41363
DO - 10.18260/1-2--41363
ER -