Students' perceptions concerning the effect of personal attributes and course attributes in classroom, online, and telecourse success

The purpose of this study was to conduct exploratory research about the differences in the perceptions of successful and non-successful students about personal and course attributes and how these relate to success in three course formats; classroom, online, and telecourse. A student survey was developed. Students enrolled in general psychology sections of all three course formats completed it. The responses were reported using descriptive methodology. Demographic data including CUM GPA, gender, age, and ethnicity were described for success and non-success groups across the three course formats. The results of the survey showed self-reported differences in students' perceptions about the importance of the personal attributes of organization and study habits, reading ability, independent learning, self-motivation, and time management to course success. A higher percentage of students in the distance learning (online and telecourse) formats perceived these attributes as important than did the students in the classroom format. The survey also showed that student-student interaction was perceived as an important course attribute. No demographic differences between successful and non-successful students across course formats were found for gender or ethnicity. However, students' ages and CUM GPA were described differently between successful and non-successful students in the distance learning formats.