The effect of scheduling format on long-term retention

This study examines the relationship between course intensity and long-term retention on graduate level counseling students enrolled in a research and statistics course. It confirms earlier findings of time and learning studies, which have primarily dealt with end-of-course outcomes, that there is no effect due to scheduling format. In this study, older students performed significantly higher on a six-month follow-up test than younger students. Students who had previous, related course work scored significantly higher in final course grades than students with no prior course work, however, differences were moderated and no longer significant at the time of follow-up. Implications from these findings are discussed.