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Kean Quest

Abstract

Condensed courses are now being offered at many colleges and universities. Most research indicates that condensed courses result in equal or better student learning outcomes when compared with the outcomes of full term courses. However, because all the previous studies only examined students who self-selected to enroll in condensed courses there may be a serious selection bias and their results may not be generalizable to all students. This study attempted to examine whether there are differences between students who have taken condensed courses and those who have not. A survey was given to 102 students of which 45 had never enrolled in a condensed course. The survey measured general perceptions of condensed courses and assessed the willingness of students to enroll in a condensed course in the future. Students who had never taken a condensed course were found to be less willing to enroll in a condensed course in the future, less interested in seeing more condensed classes offered, and less willing to take a condensed course while simultaneously enrolled in a full-term course. Students who had never taken a condensed course were also found to perceive condensed courses as more difficult than students who had taken condensed courses. These results indicate that there are differences between students who have taken condensed courses and students who have never enrolled in one. The findings of this study suggest that the findings of previous studies regarding differences in outcomes between condensed courses and full term courses may be impacted by differences in the population of each course.

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