Students’ and Faculty Members’ Perceptions of Online vs. Traditional Courses: Case Study EMU School of Computing and Technology

ABSTRACT: This study examined the perception of selected students and faculty members of online versus traditional course. The selected case study was the School of Computing and Technology at the Eastern Mediterranean University, North Cyprus. In addressing the research questions, mixed method was employed to solicit data using questionnaires to conduct survey and interviews. Data collected by survey technique had 140 participants while interview was conducted 16 students and 15 faculty members. The survey data was analyzed quantitatively, while interviews were analyzed qualitatively. Results showed that students’ perception revealed that both online and traditional courses are satisfactory and enables them attain the academic successes. In the same vein, students hold strong view that online courses are not better than traditional courses but can serve meaningfully to complement each other. The viewpoint held by faculty members complies with that of students that online courses are very efficient but serve more appropriately for theory-based courses. So traditional mode remains the best approach to teach and learn practical courses. However, online facilities are very useful in facilitative classroom learning. Keywords: Online courses, traditional courses, perception, students, faculty members. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………