The demographic, motivational, and learning style characteristics of online and on-campus students at Wor-Wic Community College

Distance education in higher education has increased significantly over the past decade. As colleges and universities use it as an alternative method of course delivery, research findings may prove beneficial with regards to meeting the needs of the diverse population of online learners. Current research reveals a more heterogeneous population of online learners. Because there is so much variability, there is an evident need to identify individual student characteristics in order to provide appropriate course placement advising. This study examines the demographic, motivational, and learning style characteristics of selected online and on-campus students at Wor-Wic Community College. The specific goal was to determine whether there was a significant relationship between learner characteristics and academic success.; Online learners at Wor-Wic Community College had several distinguishing characteristics. The demographic profile of the distance education student indicated that the typical online student was a female, married with children, with more educational experience and more gainfully employed than the on-campus students. Online students were also shown to be typically full-time employees with a professional status and a high degree of educational and web-based experience. Differences in learning styles were also apparent. The online student had a visual learning style preference while the on-campus student had a stronger preference for auditory style.; Results of the comparison of academic success rates for online and on-campus students showed a higher percentage of failures in the online courses but there were no significant differences in the range of A, B, C, and D grades. As institutions of higher education continue to expand their Web-based course offerings, there is concern about the high dropout rate for distance education programs. The findings in this study could be useful in providing suitable placement counseling to students regarding their selection of an online course.