2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 66: A Comparison Study: Challenges and Advantages of Offering Online Graduate Level Statistical Course

Presented at Continuing Professional Development Division (CPD) Poster Session

Conveying mathematical graduate-level courses online can be challenging. A graduate-level course in applied statistical process control and experimental design has been offered since 2015. This course includes three main themes: (1) probability theory with discrete and continuous probability distributions, (2) statistical tools for estimation, hypothesis testing, and control charts, and (3) 2k full and fractional experimental designs and analysis. After three years of offering the in-person class, the program moved to an online modality to reach more professional students. All materials, modules, assignments, exams, and instructors remained the same between in-person and online modalities. The study compares the performance of students in the in-person and online cohorts of the graduate-level statistical class. The results evaluate the students' abilities in four topics: probability, hypothesis testing, experimental design, and manipulating the Minitab statistical software package. The study results demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of conveying graduate-level statistical courses online. Student performance is not associated with gender or the time since completing a bachelor's degree but is related to the characteristics of the learning modules and advantages of online learning.

Authors

Dr. Yuan-Han Huang Pennsylvania State University, Behrend College [biography]

Dr. Yuan-Han Huang is an Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering and graduate faculty for the Master of Manufacturing Management (MMM) program at Penn State Behrend. He received the B.S. in Industrial Engineering from I-Shou University, Taiwan; the M.B.A. in Industrial Management from the National Taiwan University Science & Technology, Taiwan; and the M.S. in Industrial & Systems Engineering from the State University of New York (SUNY), Buffalo. Dr. Huang received his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering with a concentration in Human Factors Engineering from Clemson University in 2013.
Dr. Hsin-Li Chan Pennsylvania State University, Behrend College (Department of Industrial Engineering) [biography]

Dr. Hsin-Li Chan is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Industrial Engineering at Penn State Behrend. She received the Ph.D. degree in Industrial Engineering from Clemson University and the M.S. in Applied Statistics from Syracuse University. Dr. Chan’s research interests include applied statistics, quality control in manufacturing process, and optimization.
Dr. Barukyah Shaparenko Pennsylvania State University, Behrend College [biography]

Dr. Barukyah Shaparenko is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University in 2009 and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2015. He has taught classes in mechanical engineering (thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, CFD, measurements, freshman engineering design), engineering mechanics (statics, strength of materials), computer science (MATLAB programming), biomedical engineering (measurements), and math (calculus I and II).

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