Abstract

This paper compares the perceptions of two groups of students who participated in the first cohort of the WebIT online Master of Science Degree in Instructional Technology at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville over a two-year period. The program completers (n=11) are the students who completed and graduated from the WebIT program. The dropper-respondents (n=5) are those students who dropped out of the WebIT program prior to completion. Both groups volunteered to complete an electronically-administered survey about their WebIT experiences. Each survey contained 46 comparable items. The WebIT students’ expectations and preferences for an online program are discussed. Group responses to several questions on a program exit survey illustrate several possible differences between the members of the two groups that may provide insight into a possible relationship between the question topics and the high rate of attrition observed during the first cohort of the WebIT program.