Laura MagaÃÆña -Valladares, MarÃÆÃÂa Cecilia GonzÃÆález-Robledo, Juana Elvira SuÃÆárez, Kelly Cooper, Lorena Elizabeth Castillo
This work analyzes the three educational formats: face-to-face, blended-learning (b-learning) and online, used in the Master’s in Public Health program of the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) between 2006 and 2009. These formats were compared in terms of the student profile, academic results and students’ satisfaction. Methodologically, the study combined quantitative and qualitative techniques for data collection and analysis. Results show the existence of a different type of student for each educational format. On-line students are usually doctors who are more than 40 years old, in high executive positions. Those in the face-to-face format are mostly people who are under 30 years of age, who just received their bachelor’s degree and their entering careers broaden to the health sciences and professions. Those in the b-learning format are in intermediate age groups (between 30 and 40) and are the most multidisciplinary group although health professions are still the majority. The academic results also show differences. The best grades are mostly obtained in the b-learning format, in spite of the fact that no significant differences were found. The levels of satisfaction with the teaching process are greater in the face-to-face and b-learning formats, than with on-line.
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