Can online courses improve my GPA? A case of hospitality & tourism students in Asia and United States / David Baker and Ramaprasad Unni

Since the advent of fully online delivery of college-level coursework, several issues have preoccupied administrators, educators, and researchers with regards to student learning outcomes or performance vis-à-vis face-to-face delivery. This study examined these issues in the context of hospitality and tourism majors at Midwestern USA Universities as compared to similar students attending Universities in Asia. The sample consisted of 274 undergraduate students majoring in Hospitality and Tourism; 163 respondents from the USA and 111 from Asia. Specifically, it focused on factors that influence students’ expectation of improvement in Grade Point Average (GPA) in online learning environments compared to face-to-face environments. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regression. Factors relating to students, the role of instructors, and modes of learning had significant effects on the dependent variable. Implications of the findings are also discussed.