COVID-19 has created the need for teaching labs to adopt online modalities. Online options for lab-based courses, particularly in a college of nursing, often levies concern for equal learning outcomes between the traditional, on-campus and at-home, online versions. This study reflects on the data generated from student performance between a pilot online lab section and four traditional in-person sections of Introduction to Microbiology to gauge overall completion of course learning objectives. This course is a requirement for University of Vermont students enrolled in the nursing program, and the instructors? goal was to ensure an equivalent learning experience for the web-based students who did not partake in the hands-on laboratory experiments. This reflective study reports the end of course grades, frequent comments and critiques on assignments, and course evaluations between the two modalities. Students also completed the Microbiology Concept Inventory from the American Society for Microbiology Curriculum Guidelines at the beginning and end of the semester to evaluate improvement in microbiology knowledge and problem solving. The instructors conclude there were no significant differences in student performance between modalities. The successful implementation of the online option provides strong support for retaining web-based laboratory experiences in microbiology in future semesters.
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