The Impact of Veterans and Curriculum Heterogeneity on Online Graduate Engineering Program Performance: An Empirical Study

Online educational programs have emerged as an innovative alternative to traditional off-line, face-to-face programs in “brick and mortar” classrooms on physical college campuses. Engineering programs are embracing these innovative online teaching programs to stay competitive by operating more efficiently and by attracting a variety of stakeholders. These stakeholders include student veterans enrolled in online graduate engineering programs attracted by a variety of engineering majors and courses. This study brings these developments together to answer the following research question: How do student veterans and curriculum variety impact the performance of online master’s degree engineering programs? To answer this question, we develop a research model from hypotheses drawing from the literature. The model is then tested using secondary data from 65 online engineering master’s degree granting programs throughout the United States. The statistical analysis technique used is linear regression. The independent variables represent veteran enrollment and curriculum variety, and the dependent variable represents online graduate engineering program performance. In sum, the heterogeneity of students and curriculum are found to positively impact on-line engineering program success. This study is important because it empirically identifies specific factors that can improve online graduate engineering program performance. The paper concludes with implications for engineering education and recommendations for future research.