http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/201...161318.htm

"College students participating in a new study on online courses said they felt less connected and had a smaller sense of classroom community than those who took the same classes in person -- but that didnt keep online students from performing just as well as their in-person counterparts."

1) It's just a survey. No actual tests were taken (or students harmed) in the making of this study
2) Entry level science course students. Results might be different for other subjects or levels.

I'm getting a master's degree in Library and Information Science completely online-- the school is halfway across the country. I would agree with this study; connectedness is much much lower but academic performance is as usual based on your individual motivation.

I am not sure I would have wanted to get my undergrad in an online school, but it is definitely a good option to have. There's no way I could have a full time day job if I went to a face-to-face school.

jcdietz03 Wrote:1) It's just a survey. No actual tests were taken (or students harmed) in the making of this study
2) Entry level science course students. Results might be different for other subjects or levels.

You're getting too much of a kick in trying to 'bash' various studies, I think. The survey seems well-constructed, and it's meant to just be a 'survey' to survey the psychological perceptions of students and correlating the results with their course grades, wherein they found that regardless of how disconnected they felt from the traditional classroom experience (or ideal, rather, since 'traditionally' classrooms are zoos filled with douchebags ;p) they did equally well.

As for #2, wow, thanks for the newsflash! ;p