Student satisfaction with interactive telecourses as a function of demographic variables and prior telecourse experience

An investigation was conducted in which 699 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in 33 live interactive telecourses were asked to report their telecourse facet satisfaction (satisfaction with the telecourse instruction/instructor, technology, and logistic/ management), demographic characteristics (age, gender, personal income, and socioeconomic status), and experience with televised courses (number of prior telecourses they had completed). Results showed that among the demographic variables gender reliably predicted student satisfaction with the logistic/management aspects of the telecourses. That is, male students reported being significantly more satisfied than female students with these aspects of the courses. Moreover, age, personal income, and socioeconomic status were unrelated to facet satisfaction. Finally, greater telecourse experience was significantly associated with lower degrees of instruction/instructor satisfaction. Practical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.