https://doi.org/10.1177/0273475318818864 Journal of Marketing Education 1–10 © The Author(s) 2018 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0273475318818864 journals.sagepub.com/home/jmd Article The popularity of online learning has been gradually increasing and is predicted to continue in the future (Croxton, 2014; Richardson, Maeda, Lv, & Caskurlu, 2017; Seaman, Allen, & Seaman, 2018). eCampus Ontario (2018) identified growing trends in postsecondary educa- tion and emphasized the importance of online and tech- nology-enabled learning. These trends included an increasingly mature postsecondary student population, rapidly changing workplace demands, and advances in technology. In an online education report in the United States, Seaman et al. (2018) suggested that enrollments in online courses have been increasing even faster than before, and in fall 2016, there were more than 6 million students, nearly 32% of all students, enrolled in at least one online course. Some benefits of online learning to students include its flexibility in terms of participation, convenience, and cus- tomizability to learners’ needs (Croxton, 2014; Richardson et al., 2017). Students are able to participate in their online courses from their convenient location using user-friendly online learning programs on their computers or laptops. This reduces students’ time and place constraints of taking certain courses. However, lack of face-to-face (F2F) inter- actions between students and instructors or among stu- dents remain a major concern of online learning, and there is a need to look for more effective ways to improve stu- dent engagement in online learning environments (Watts, 2016). Synchronous communication tools help learners and instructors directly interact and provide feedback among themselves (Giesbers, Rienties, Tempelaar, & Gijselaers, 2013). For example, in synchronous environ- ments, instructors have the ability to put students in groups so students can work on certain problems among them- selves, emulating an F2F classroom environment. This is possible by using technology like Blackboard Collaborate. The aim of this article is to investigate whether the use of an entirely virtual, interactive, real-time, instructor-led (VIRI) online learning environment can deliver the same student performance and engagement outcomes as an F2F learning environment. This study investigates the effect of a synchronous online format course on the student learning outcomes and on their level of engagement compared with an F2F format. It will add empirical support concerning whether online learning can deliver similar effectiveness in terms of student performance and engagement results com- pared with a F2F learning environment. In the following sections, a literature review is provided along with research questions and methodology. Then, research findings are presented with a discussion of research implications. 818864JMD XX X 10.1177/0273475318818864Journal of Marketing EducationFrancescucci and Rohani research-article 2018 1 Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Corresponding Author: Anthony Francescucci, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3, Canada. Email: a.frances@ryerson.ca Exclusively Synchronous Online (VIRI) Learning: The Impact on Student Performance and Engagement Outcomes Anthony Francescucci 1 and Laila Rohani 1 Abstract There are growing trends in postsecondary education that emphasize the importance of online and technology-enabled learning. This study aims to investigate whether the use of virtual, interactive, real-time, instructor-led (VIRI) online learning can deliver the same student performance and engagement outcomes as a face-to-face (F2F) course. The data consist of 698 participants taught in eight sections, over two semesters, with two different instructors. An analysis of variance was used to compare the differences for both student performance and engagement outcomes. The findings show that a synchronous course delivered using VIRI classroom technology has the same level of student performance outcomes as F2F learning. This study suggests that VIRI technology is an effective synchronous learning environment. Keywords synchronous, virtual, interactive, real-time, instructor-led, learning