A Comparative Study of Traditional and Compressed Scheduling on Undergraduate Construction Students’ Performance

There is a continual need to modify the way tertiary institutions do business to meet the needs of a changing society. The focus has been on success and retention whereas the new strategy in New Zealand supports wider economic growth and prosperity. There is a need for tertiary organisations to think about existing models and means of delivery, inclusive of new and emerging technologies as well as a continued expectation of the ability for tertiary institutions to deliver content via time and cost efficient means. Traditional scheduling involves concurrent enrolment in numerous courses with less contact time over a 16- week timeframe, whereas compressed scheduling focusses on 2 courses per 8 weeks with more instructional time per week. This paper evaluates the use of compressed scheduling methods for first and second year courses on an undergraduate programme in construction in New Zealand. The quantitative study compares end of course exam results, gender, age enrolment and residency status of 2 first year courses and 3 second year courses for the students from 2011 to 2016. The outcomes are consistent with the literature and support the proposition that a similar student learning experience can be achieved in traditional and compressed courses. The findings of the study suggest that concerns associated with offering courses or providing alternative teaching pedagogies associated with traditional and compressed scheduling are unfounded. Interestingly the females in the study performed better in a compressed schedule as compared to a traditional schedule and warrants further research.

Relationship Between Course Length and Graduate Student Outcome Measures

One method to increase flexibility in class offerings is through the use of compressed courses, classes that have the same number of contact hours but over a shorter time period (e.g., 8 weeks vs. 15 weeks). Before offering these courses, it is important to determine whether they lead to equivalent or better student outcomes. This study examined 11 traditional-length and 8 compressed sections of the same graduate-level statistics course. Results indicated students in the compressed class scored significantly higher on both the third exam and final course grade. Student course evaluations were also significantly higher in the compressed courses. Graduate students rated traditional-length and compressed courses similar in difficulty. Implications for course offerings are discussed.