1. MONASH PUBLIC HEALTH &
PREVENTIVE
MEDICINE
How do students perform when completing an accelerated, online Masters program?
Professor Dragan Ilic, Dr Nazmul Karim, A/Prof Basia Diug
Director of Teaching & Learning,
Head, Medical Education Research & Quality (MERQ) unit
School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Monash Centre for Scholarship in Health Education

2. Courses at SPHPM Multimodal Master of Public Health (MPH)
Master of Health Management (MHM)

3. Courses at SPHPM Online Carousel approach Master of Public Health
Master of Health Administration
Carousel approach

4. Research opportunities
Is there a difference in student performance across the two types of courses?
6 week versus 12 week duration
Is there a difference in student satisfaction across the two types of courses?
Student Evaluation of Teaching Units (SETU)
Does performance differ between domestic and international students?

5. Performance and SETU: online vs on-campus
Mode
Code
Unit title
Numbers
Pass rate
Grade median
SETU
Online – TP4
MPH5301
Health systems and policy
136
91.11% C
3.60
Multimodal
MPH5269
Foundations of health policy 67
92.54%
3.56
Online – TP5
MPH5302
Biostatistics: Concepts and applications
137
93.50% D
4.55
MPH5041
Introductory biostatistics
143
94.51%
4.77
Online – TP6
MPH5303
Epidemiology of infectious diseases 75
100%
4.71
MPH5218
Infectious diseases: Epidemiology and prevention 15
100.00%
4.72
Online – TP1
MPH5304
Leading and managing in public health and health care 40
92.50%
3.97
MPH5266
Clinical leadership and management 89
92.13%
4.08
Online – TP2
MPH5305
Epidemiology: Concepts and applications 58
87.93%
3.95
MPH5040
Introductory epidemiology
156
93.59%
4.07
MPH5307
Introduction to health law principles 93
95.70%
3.75
MPH5265
Law for health systems 63
96.83%
4.18

6. Performance and SETU: online vs on-campus
Mode
Code
Unit title
Numbers
Pass rate
Grade median
SETU
Online - TP1
MPH5308
Developing health systems
113
84.96% C
2.98
Multimodal
MPH5272
Reform and development of health services 49
95.92%
4.12
Online – TP2
MPH5309
Occupational health and safety 67
85.07% D
4.57
MPH5241
Introduction to occupational health and safety 19
89.47%
3.67
Online – TP3
MPH5310
Introduction to environmental health 39
87.18%
4.04
MPH5203
Environmental influences on health 27
92.59%
4.67
Online – TP4
MPH5314
Epidemiology of chronic disease 72
91.67%
4.18
MPH5207
Chronic disease: Epidemiology and prevention 37
94.59%
4.78
MPH5311
Safety and quality in health care 35
91.43%
4.35
MPH5267
Principles of health care quality improvement 89
93.26%
MPH5312
Advances in managing patient care processes 57
96.49%
4.75
MPH5286
Applying and practicing the principles of patient safety and quality improvement 22
100.00%
4.93

7. Strongly disagree (1) – Strongly agree (5)
Impact of the 6 week teaching period
Strongly disagree (1) – Strongly agree (5)
The current TP structure was one of the main considerations in choosing the course I am enrolled in.
2.27%
9.09%
13.64%
36.36%
38.64%
4.00
The current TP structure allows me to digest learning material in sufficient time.
4.55%
6.81%
56.82%
18.18%
3.70
With the current TP structure, I have sufficient time to complete assessment tasks in a timely manner.
20.45%
25.00%
45.45%
3.25
With the current TP structure, I can balance my studies with other commitments, such as family and careers.
6.98%
16.28%
23.26%
48.84%
3.28

8. Discontinuation MPH MHA Discontinued Not N (%) 62 (29.1) 151 (70.9%)
MPH
MHA
Discontinued
Not
N (%)
62 (29.1)
151 (70.9%)
56 (29.3)
135 (70.7%)
Unit completed #
1-3
44 (71.0)
5 (3.3)
28 (50.0)
7 (5.2)
4-6
9 (14.5)
42 (27.8)
18 (32.1)
38 (28.1)
> 6
9 (14.5)
104 (68.9)
10 (17.9)
90 (66.7)
Test statistics
P < 0.001
Intermission number
None
24 (77.4)
82 (68.9)
13 (50.0)
77 (70.0)
1-2
2 (6.5)
15 (12.6)
1 (3.8)
12 (10.9)
3-4
5 (16.1)
7 (26.9)
17 (15.5)
>4
0 (0.0)
7 (5.9)
5 (19.2)
4 (3.6)
P =0.373
P = 0.009
Reason for discontinued
Unable to cope with the load
16 (25.8) -
16 (28.6)
Major health/life event
4 (7.1)
Alternative exit taken
8 (12.9)
13 (23.2)
Financial or failed to re-enroll
11 (17.7)
New employment/relocation
03 (4.8)
06 (10.7)
Course expectation not met
7 (11.3)
03 (0.5.4)
No reason stated
03 (5.4)
Excluded by Faculty
05 (8.1)
01 (01.8)

9. Online students
Students failing 2 or more units were more likely to discontinue
OR-2.53; 95%CI:
Students completing at least 25% of the course were less likely to discontinue
OR-0.03; 95%CI:
Intermission in a previous unit did not decrease the odds of discontinuation
OR-2.53; 95%CI:

10. Domestic vs international performance
DOM/INT
Unit title
Mean SE
P<0.05
DOM
Clinical leadership and management
64.8
1.5
INT
62.1
2.7
Introductory epidemiology
68.7
1.0 *
61.5
3.0
Law for health systems
73.6
2.0
76.2
2.8
Principles of health care quality improvement
67.3
1.6
70.3
2.1
Reform and development of health services
66.7
69.7
3.4
Foundations of health policy
62.7
1.4
52.9
6.1
Introductory biostatistics
70.1
3.9
Chronic disease: Epidemiology and prevention
66.2
3.3
66.6
2.9

11. Outcomes so far…
Quality and satisfaction between multimodal and online units is equivalent
Predictors of discontinuation
Failing 2+ units
<25% of course completion
Support required for adjustment to 6 week teaching period
International student support
Weekly seminars
Specific online learning materials
Student academic support (inc. peer)

12. Thank you Professor Dragan Ilic dragan.ilic@monash.edu @DraganIlic99
@MERQMU