Date of Award:

5-2013

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences

Department name when degree awarded

Nutrition Science

Committee Chair(s)

Heidi Wengreen

Committee

Heidi Wengreen

Committee

Victor Lee

Committee

Marlene Israelsen

Abstract

A record high number of students enrolled in The Science and Application of Human Nutrition (NDFS 1020), during the Spring semester of 2010. With enrollment rates projected to continue to rise, NDFS 1020 faculty recognized that the existing traditional, lecture-based course structure did not allow for further growth of the program if academic integrity was to be upheld. NDFS 1020 was, consequently, transitioned to a hybrid format presenting 2/3 of the course experience online, and the remaining 1/3 in a face-to-face format. Hybrid NDFS 1020 was offered to distance education and on-campus students alike beginning in the Fall semester of 2010. The hybrid design was expected to generate better student learning outcomes and student satisfaction levels despite larger class size.

To ensure the selected combination of face-to-face and online learning elements effectively delivered course content to students, $15, 000 was allocated to fund an extensive evaluation of the new hybrid design. Data collection occurred Fall of 2010 and Spring of 2011. On average, on-campus and distance education students achieved satisfactory levels of academic performance, and were happy with the course design. Interestingly, though the on-campus students did outperform their distance education counterparts, the latter were generally more satisfied with the hybrid design. This was speculated to be due to differences in life circumstances. Overall, the hybrid NDFS 1020 design may be viewed as an example of an effective, standardized educational experience offered to large, diverse student populations.

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