Evaluating distance learning in health informatics education.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics Education
• Academic Performance Analysis
• Distance Learning Research

Background:

• The rise of distance learning presents opportunities and challenges in health informatics education.
• Understanding the academic outcomes of distance learners compared to traditional on-campus students is crucial for program development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the academic performance of distance-learning and on-campus health informatics students.
• To identify any differences in final GPA and certification exam scores between the two learning modalities.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative causal-comparative research design.
• Academic performance measured by final GPA and Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) certification exam scores.
• Previous academic performance assessed using admission GPA (overall and math/science).

Main Results:

• No significant difference in overall final GPA or total RHIA certification scores between distance and on-campus students.
• On-campus students achieved statistically higher scores in 4 out of 17 RHIA certification sub-domains.
• Significant correlations were found between admission GPAs, final GPA, and RHIA certification scores.

Conclusions:

• Distance learning is a viable modality for health informatics education, yielding comparable overall academic outcomes to on-campus programs.
• Targeted support may be beneficial for distance learners in specific RHIA certification sub-domains.
• Prior academic achievement is a strong predictor of success in health informatics programs, regardless of learning modality.