The Role of the Business Major in Student Perceptions of Learning and Satisfaction with Course Format

This study examines the association between course format (face-to-face, blended, and online) and students’ perceived outcomes (perceived learning and satisfaction) for accounting, finance, management, and marketing majors. This analysis revealed that for management majors, the online format was positively associated with perceived learning, while face-to-face classes were positively associated with learning satisfaction. In contrast, marketing majors indicated that the face-to-face format was negatively associated with perceived learning. Accounting and finance majors indicated that the online and face-to-face formats did not associate with either satisfaction or perceived learning. While our findings suggest a striking contrast between the results for each major, different students perceive course formats uniquely. Thus, our analysis does not support a claim for superiority of one format over another. All respondents were enrolled in the strategic management capstone course.