Online in half the Time: a Case Study with Online Compressed Courses

Higher education institutions of today are offering different courses in different formats in order to attract students and increase enrollment. Courses that can be completed in a shorter time frame are growing in popularity but can come with challenges. This case study research examined the experiences of students and instructors in online compressed courses across a nine-month period in one academic program. Results indicate that, while the students performed well, they dropped good academic practices such as reading in depth and writing drafts of papers. In addition, instructors reduced the quality of their feedback and became overwhelmed with the workload. We discuss recommendations for creating online compressed courses that are of benefit to both students and instructors.