A study of quality assurance impact on online learning outcomes of college students
Abstract
The effectiveness of online teaching depends on quality assurance (QA) support, including individualised helpdesk assistance and group-based faculty training. The purpose of this study is to examine the QA impact on student learning outcomes through a twofold approach: (1) quantitative analyses of the relationship between QA assistance data and 51,670 grade point average (GPA) records across online courses during the COVID-19 pandemic; and (2) qualitative extraction of the topic patterns about helpdesk services at a state university in California. An R package is employed to capture the primary features of technical assistance. While the QA support is triggered by the massive course switch to online teaching, the impact has been sustained by the fact that many incoming college students have taken online courses during the pandemic and wish to keep the online programme options in higher education. In alignment with the extended needs, the research findings are discussed to draw the future implications of QA support for faculty professional development and student learning in the post-pandemic era.
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Author's Biography
Jianjun Wang , PhD and Professor, teaches statistics and research method courses for undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programmes. During his tenure since 1993, he made over 100 publications across the academic fields of physics, statistics and educational research. Meanwhile, he worked on external grants totaling more than US$100m, served on the University Professional Responsibility Committee for eight years, chaired the Department of Advanced Educational Studies for six years, worked as the Faculty Associate in the Student Quality Assurance Impact Research Project of the Chancellor’s Office for seven years and mentored the professional growth of junior faculty, lecturers and doctoral students through his teaching and academic support in data analysis for three decades. His current research interests include text analytics, research design and statistical computing.
Citation
Wang, Jianjun (2024, March 1). A study of quality assurance impact on online learning outcomes of college students. In the Advances in Online Education: A Peer-Reviewed Journal, Volume 2, Issue 3. https://doi.org/10.69554/MRNW7041.
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