Predictors of student preference for online courses

Online education has increased significantly in recent years. However, a comprehensive examination of factors that predict who will take online courses has not been located. This study explored demographic and opinion influences on preferences regarding current and future online courses for 152 college student participants. Results indicate that students who expressed a desire for more online courses at their university tended to prefer online courses. Additionally, the greatest number of online courses were taken by females who: are older than 20 years of age; work 40 hours or more per week; express preference for online or blended courses; consider online courses to be equivalent in difficulty to other course formats; and, express desire for more online course offerings at their university. As such, when marketing online courses, university personnel would be wise to target these groups and focus on the question of whether members of these groups desired more online course offerings at their universities.