Class scheduling and academic achievement in a non-traditional graduate program

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between scheduling format and academic achievement in a nontraditional master's degree program. At the beginning of each of three successive semesters, a pretest was administered to juvenile probation officers enrolled in a research methods course. Each group was exposed to the same course content but under varying conditions: “intensive,” eight hours a day for five consecutive days; “compacted,” eight hours a day for two and one-half successive week-ends; and “normal,” four hours each day on weekends spread out equally over five weekends of a regular 15-week semester. A posttest was administered at the conclusion of each class and results compared to a control group that had experienced the course under a traditional format of three hours per evening, one day a week for 15 successive weeks. Findings indicate no effect due to scheduling format. However, of interest is the finding that academic achievement is positively associated with having had a research methods course as an undergraduate but negatively associated with the elapsed time between receiving a baccalaureate degree and commencing graduate study. Implications from the finding for nontraditional graduate programs are discussed.