To Assess Blended Courses: Factors Influencing the Course Successful Rate

The purpose of this study was to develop a model that can be used to assess blended courses at any given time during the semester, with concurrent data at the time, so adjustment to deal with possible problems could be made. Specifically, the model was developed to predict the successful rate of a blended course, with influential variables that reflect the efforts or activities of both students and the instructors. The sample of this study was 2238 blended courses offered from 24 colleges at a university in an eastern province of China. Data were collected at the end of spring semester of 2018 from the learning management system of the university. 24 predictor variables were examined, in which 14 were instructor related variables, 6 were student related variables, and 6 were general course activity. Multiple regression analysis was conducted. Three models were developed based on data from all courses, from liberal art colleges, and from STEM colleges. Overall, four direct influential variables and 13 indirect influential variables (including three student-related variables and 10 teacher-related variables) were found significant to the successful rate of a blended course. The findings clearly indicated that the efforts by students and instructors were both critical to the success of a blended course, and especially the instructors’ work matters.