Distance education has become increasingly popular among college students over the last two decades and institutions have responded to this demand by offering more online and hybrid courses. These courses provide many benefits to students, including increased flexibility and accessibility, which contribute to its growing popularity. However, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines have been slower to create online courses, likely due to the laboratory component that most STEM courses contain, which has traditionally been completed in a face-to-face setting. Many faculty, administrators, and national organizations have indicated that virtual labs cannot serve as an effective replacement for in-person labs. The purpose of this quantitative, causal comparative study was to examine the impact that lab delivery methods have on the achievement of learning outcomes, transfer of learning, and self-perception as it relates to persistence among higher education students in an anatomy and physiology lab course. A total of 99 students participated in this study; 53 of these students completed an in-person lab, while the other 46 students completed a virtual lab during an anatomy and physiology course. Pre- and post-tests were used to assess student achievement and learning transfer, while pre- and post-surveys were used to assess changes in students' self-perceptions related to persistence in college and persistence in the sciences. The results indicated that students who completed the in-person lab displayed higher achievement than the students who completed the virtual lab; however, there was no significant difference in the transfer of learning between the two groups. Additionally, the students who completed the in-person lab experienced a significant increase in their self-perceptions related to persistence in the sciences, while the virtual lab students did not. Neither method of lab delivery had a significant impact on self-perception regarding college persistence. Based on these results, the recommendations are that virtual labs should be offered in conjunction with, rather than in place of, in-person labs and that lab experiences should be interactive and engaging, regardless of the delivery method. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]