A Comparison Study: Challenges and Advantages of Offering Online Graduate Level Statistical Course

Conveying mathematical graduate-level courses online can be challenging. A graduate-level course in applied statistical process control and experimental design has been offered since 2015. This course includes three main themes: (1) probability theory with discrete and continuous probability distributions, (2) statistical tools for estimation, hypothesis testing, and control charts, and (3) 2^k full and fractional experimental designs and analysis. After three years of offering the in-person class, the program moved to an online modality to reach more professional students. All materials, modules, assignments, exams, and instructors remained the same between in-person and online modalities. The study compares the performance of students in the in-person and online cohorts of the graduate-level statistical class. The results evaluate the students' abilities in four topics: probability, hypothesis testing, experimental design, and manipulating the Minitab statistical software package. The study results demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of conveying graduate-level statistical courses online. Student performance is not associated with gender or the time since completing a bachelor's degree but is related to the characteristics of the learning modules and advantages of online learning.