Behind the Final Grade in Hybrid v. Traditional Courses: Comparing Student Performance by Assessment Type, Core Competency, and Course Objective

There are many different delivery methods used by institutions of higher education. These include traditional, hybrid, and online course offerings. The comparisons of these typically use final grade as the measure of student performance. This research study looks behind the final grade and compares student performance by assessment type, core competency, and course objective. The statistical conclusions showed that hybrid course delivery could produce similar if not better results than traditional delivery. In addition, students performed significantly higher in assignments, critical thinking, written communications, and the advanced course objectives. Surprisingly, there appeared to be little if any impact on group projects and teamwork skills in the hybrid sections. Therefore, this study supports the hybrid delivery method for courses with similar course components.