Abstract
To investigate differences in student’s academic and social integration between campus based and online programs, College of Agriculture Masters students in U.S. campus and online degree programs were surveyed. To investigate potential influences of differences, College of Agriculture graduate program directors were surveyed. Data were gathered using online questionnaires. The student questionnaire included demographics and three scales, academic integration, social integration and intention to persist. Academic integration was measured with the subscales of advisor relationship and academic interaction. Social integration was measured with the subscales of peer group support, faculty interactions and involvement in social interactions. The director questionnaire included five variables designed to measure attitudes and design of online programs. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U and Tukey’s HSD were conducted to identify program differences and to identify attitude and program format differences. Significant differences were found between online and campus students on academic and social integration scales, but not on the intention to persist scale; and on graduate director attitudes and types of communication used in the graduate online programs. This study indicates that there are differences in integration of campus and online students. Strategies to improve online student’s socialization may include communication components designed to increase meaningful interactions.
 4. Hammond_NACTA Journal.pdf | [ ] | 311 kB |
