Internet Learning Volume 6, Number 2, Fall 2017/Winter 2018 | Page 26

The Effect of Term Length on Student Achievement in Online College Algebra
It was noted, however, that a student’s
ability to maintain an accelerated pace
over time may be questionable. In a
review of undergraduate students in
an inferential statistics class, Anderson
and Anderson (2012) found that a
compressed semester with longer class
meetings resulted in higher final exam
scores and overall course grade point
averages than students in non-accelerated
inferential statistics courses. These
findings indicate that an accelerated
model can be successfully applied in
face-to-face settings. Can the same be
true of online classrooms?
The work of Diaz and Cartnal
(2006), while dated, does offer a
glimpse into the connection between
academic term length and attrition and
suggests that term length has been a
significant factor in online learning for
some time. Citing the literature that
suggests the high dropout rates commonly
seen in online education, Diaz
and Cartnal (2006) offer the argument
that dropout rates are not indicative of
a student’s lack of academic success. On
the contrary, Diaz and Cartnal propose
that adult learners may choose to drop
a class as a strategic educational maneuver
that would allow them to retake the
class at a more opportune time without
negatively impacting their GPA.
Recently, there has been a rise in
the number of studies that address the
issue of term length specifically in the
online setting. Collins et al. (2013) note
a paradigm shift in course development
that is the result of changes in market
demand. Through a mixed methods
study, they sought to understand the
experiences and expectations of preservice
teachers completing coursework
under a compressed model and found
that some students take accelerated
courses to complete a degree sooner
and often for financial reasons (Collins
et al., 2013). It was noted that many students
entered accelerated courses with
the expectation that the experience
would be challenging, yet rewarding;
however, some students preferred faceto-face
instruction, but chose online
learning because of family and time
constraints (Collins et al., 2013).
Collins, Kang, Biniecki, and Favor
(2015) also noted potential barriers
to success in accelerated courses. In a
study of an accelerated Master’s degree
program for military officers, the
authors found that students who get
behind in course work due to deployment,
connectivity issues, or other life
circumstances often struggle to catch
up before the course ends (Collins et al.,
2015). An accelerated program format
does not work for every learner and for
some military officers the pace is just
too fast (Collins et al., 2015).
Rodrigue et al. (2016) studied
student perceptions of term length in
online business classes. The researchers’
university offered both 8-week
and 16-week term lengths for online
courses, and faculty noted concerns
not only with the practicality of teaching
the same course over two different
term lengths but also in the viability of
teaching a quality course in just 8 weeks
(Rodrigue et al., 2016). Using a fivepoint
Likert scale, the researchers surveyed
the 463 students enrolled in the
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