JOURNAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION THEORY AND PRACTICE

Dimensions of Quality in Online Business Course Offerings:

Content, Format and Feedback

Author(s): Kenneth A. Heischmidt, Yves Damoiseau

Citation: Kenneth A. Heischmidt, Yves Damoiseau, (2012) "Dimensions of Quality in Online Business Course Offerings:

Content, Format and Feedback," Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, Vol.12, Iss. 2, pp. 84 - 98

Article Type: Research paper

Publisher: North American Business Press

Abstract:

In this study, the authors identify relevant dimension of quality in business online course offerings. Taking

a customer orientation, this study examined the dimensions of students’ expectations and their

satisfaction with the fulfillment of those expectations. In a two step process, relevant service dimensions

have been identified and their importance explored. From the original fifteen dimensions of perceived

quality, six dimensions were identified to have a statistically significant influence on the overall

satisfaction with the quality of a business online course. The delivery of online courses needs to consider

the important dimensions of content, format and feedback in order to increase the chances for overall

satisfaction with the online course experience. Ratings of students with relatively higher grade

expectations at the start of the online experience correlated positively with a higher overall satisfaction in

the respective online courses. The implications of the findings for online course instructors and college

administrators are discussed.