Tim H. Murphy

Differences in Competencies between Doctoral Students On-Campus and at a Distance

Abstract This article describes differences between on‐campus and distance learners by knowledge, skills, and abilities. On‐campus doctoral students at Texas A&M University were compared with doctoral students enrolled in a distance education program offered jointly with Texas Tech University. Student perceptions of their competency levels were gathered using a mixed mailed/Internet questionnaire. On‐campus and distance education students had different levels of competence. Competency models can serve faculty and administrators as an assessment tool for strategic decision making and development of courses and curricula. This study provides a model for benchmarking competencies and provides baseline data for making such changes.