Online Courses Report Spring 2014 Office of Institutional Research October 2, 2014

Transcription

1 Online Courses Report 2014 Office of Institutional Research October 2, 2014 Course Enrollment & Completion 1 WEBON (100% online) course enrollment at Northern Essex Community College decreased by 9.7% from 2013 to The number of WEBON courses also decreased by 16.4%, while sections for WEBON decreased by 13.0% (see Table 1). WEBHY (50% online) course enrollments increased by 44.1%. The number of WEBHY courses increased by 32.0% and the WEBHY sections increased by 44.3% (see Table 2). Table 1 WEBON % Change '13 '14 # WEBON Seats 2,182 1,992 2,013 2,069 1, % # WEBON Courses % # WEBON Sections % Average WEBON Section Size % Average Traditional Section Size % For 2014 there were 1,869 grades assigned to WEBON classified courses and 1,654 to WEBHY classified courses. Although there has been a decrease in WEBON seats in 2014 by 9.7% from 2013, there has been an increase in the number of WEBHY seats by 44.1% in 2014 from 2013 (see Table 2). Table 2 WEB HYBRID % Change '13 '14 # WEBHY Seats ,169 1,148 1, % # WEBHY Courses % # WEBHY Sections % Average WEBHY Section Size % Average Traditional Section Size % 1 Sections with enrollments of 1 4 are considered directed studies and are excluded from Table 1 only. All further analyses include all seats, courses, and sections from the end of term grade file. Page 1 of 12

2 Figure 1 below shows the trend of the number of seats for WEBON and WEBHY from 2010 to There was a steady increase in number of WEBHY seats over the years from 2010 to 2014 in comparison to the slightly decreased number of WEBON seats. Figure 1 Number of Online Seats 2,500 2,000 1,500 1, Number of Online Seats WEBON WEBHY In 2014, the number of seats for Traditional courses decreased by 7.8% from 2013 while WEBON seats decreased by 9.7% and WEBHY seats increased by 44.1% (See Table 3). Due to the fact that many traditionally taught courses now have a blackboard component, Traditional, Web Companion, and Web Enhanced course are more similar and therefore, have been merged together in further analyses in Tables 3 and 4. Table % Change All courses by Method Type # Seats % # Seats % # Seats % # Seats % # Seats % '13 '14 Traditional* 16, % 16, % 15, % 15, % 14, % 7.8% WEBON 2, % 1, % 2, % 2, % 1, % 9.7% WEBHY % % 1, % 1, % 1, % 44.1% Total Grades 19, % 18, % 18, % 18, % 17, % *Traditional include WEBCP, WEBEN, INDIV, and UNK WEBON A C completion rates increased from 64.8% in 2013 to 65.3% in WEBHY A C completion rates have increased from 77.0% in 2013 to 79.6% in The Traditional A C completion rates have increased from 73.1% in 2013 to 73.3% in 2014 (see Table 4). Page 2 of 12

3 Table 4 % WEBON Change '13 '14 # WEBON Grades 2,182 1,992 2,013 2,069 1, % # WEBON Completers (A C) 1,365 1,276 1,303 1,340 1, % WEBON Completion Rate (A C) 62.6% 64.1% 64.7% 64.8% 65.3% 0.6% % WEB HYBRID Change '13 '14 # WEBHY Grades ,169 1,148 1, % # WEBHY Completers (A C) , % WEBHY Completion Rate (A C) 67.2% 62.2% 73.1% 77.0% 79.6% 2.6% % Traditional* Change '13 '14 # Traditional Grades 16,503 16,178 15,802 15,674 14, % # Traditional Completers (A C) 11,597 11,260 11,295 11,457 10, % Traditional Completion Rate (A C) 70.3% 69.6% 71.5% 73.1% 73.4% 0.3% % Total (all Grades) Change '13 '14 # Total Grades 19,448 18,954 18,984 18,891 17, % # Total Completers (A C) 13,475 13,024 13,453 13,681 13, % Total Completion Rate (A C) 69.3% 68.7% 70.9% 72.4% 73.1% 0.7% % of WEBON Grades to All Grades 11.2% 10.5% 10.6% 11.0% 10.4% 0.6% % of Online** Grades to All Grades 15.1% 14.6% 16.8% 17.0% 19.6% 2.6% *Traditional include WEBCP, WEBEN, INDIV, and UNK ** Online include WEBON and WEBHY WEBHY realized the largest year gain in course completion rate by 2.6%, increasing from 77.0% in 2013 to 79.6% in 2014 (see Table 4). Due to this significant increase, it is important to consider what factors could potentially account for this large difference. The ihealth program began more recently, and the ihealth sections are all WEBHY. Due to these two factors, it is important to examine what type of an impact I Health has on the WEBHY course completion rate. Table 5 shows that the ihealth WEBHY course completion rate is considerably higher (89.1%) than the non ihealth WEBHY course completion rate (68.7%). However, the WEBHY ihealth course completion rate only slightly increased by 0.6% from 2013 to 2014 while the WEBHY non ihealth course completion rate increased by 1.3%. Page 3 of 12

4 Table Course Completion Rate % Change WEB HYBRID # # A C completers # # A C completers '13 '14 # ihealth Seats % 89.1% 0.6% # Non ihealth Seats % 68.7% 1.3% Total Grades 1, ,654 1, % 79.6% 2.6% Online courses (WEBHY and WEBON) were offered in 41 disciplines in Table 6 includes all disciplines offered during 2014 and the corresponding course completion rates by instructional method for Online and Traditional methods. Out of these 41 disciplines, 13 showed a higher Online A C course completion rate than their Traditional counterparts (highlighted in gray). Of these 13 highlighted disciplines, Accounting had the largest difference of 12.7% between the Online and Traditional course completion rate. Table 6 Discipline Subject Code 2014 Online A C Completion Rate 2014 Traditional A C Completion Rate Accounting ACC 70.1% 57.4% Anthropology ANT 66.7% 77.4% Art ART 42.9% 84.9% American Sign Language ASL 86.7% Biology BIO 74.2% 72.1% Business BUS 49.3% 66.8% Chemistry CHM 83.3% 74.4% Computer Information Sciences CIS 56.5% 60.9% Clinic Lab Science CLS 72.7% 83.3% Communications COM 86.4% 86.5% Cooperative Education COP 100.0% Criminal Justice CRJ 66.7% 81.6% College Success Seminar CSS 64.3% 69.5% Computed Tomography CTA 94.1% Computer Technology Electronics CTE 75.6% Computer Technology Networking CTN 67.1% 64.6% Cardiovascular Technology CVT 99.0% Dance DAN 85.5% Dental Assisting DAS 100.0% Deaf and Hard of Hearing DHH 66.7% Deaf Studies DST 90.9% 2 Previous analyses on ihealth course completion rates categorized ihealth utilizing the Campus variable in the end of term Final Grades freeze file and 2014 were both calculated in this report utilizing the Sequence Number variable and will be used for subsequent analyses for more accurate and direct comparisons. Page 4 of 12

5 Discipline Subject Code 2014 Online A C Completion Rate 2014 Traditional A C Completion Rate Early Childhood Education ECE 68.8% 89.2% Economics ECO 84.0% 84.8% Elementary Education EDU 66.7% 83.3% Emergency Medical Technician EMT 40.0% 88.9% English ENG 64.3% 67.9% Earth Science ERS 63.6% 87.2% English as a Second Language ESL 90.6% 78.0% Engineering Science & Technology EST 74.0% Finance FIN 90.3% Geography GEO 73.3% Government GOV 54.2% 65.9% Health Services HES 89.4% 91.9% History HIS 66.3% 71.0% Honors HON 100.0% Human Services HUS 72.2% 83.7% Journalism JRN 69.8% Literature LIT 53.9% 76.2% Medical Assistant MAS 100.0% 94.4% Mathematics MAT 68.7% 65.4% Management MGT 61.9% 71.4% Marketing MKT 82.6% 77.6% Medical Records Technology MRT 92.4% Music MUS 63.9% Nursing NUR 100.0% 90.6% Ophthalmic OPT 93.8% Paralegal Studies PAR 84.2% 72.6% PE / Sport and Leisure Studies PED 74.1% Philosophy PHI 60.4% 70.9% Physics PHS 61.9% Practical Nursing PNS 89.5% Polysomnography PSG 84.6% 92.3% Psychology PSY 61.2% 71.9% Reading REA 57.0% 64.9% Religion REL 73.9% Respiratory Care RSC 100.0% 98.4% Radiologic Technology RTA 100.0% 99.0% Science SCI 92.9% Sociology SOC 78.2% 73.3% Spanish SPN 76.5% Page 5 of 12

6 Discipline Subject Code 2014 Online A C Completion Rate 2014 Traditional A C Completion Rate Theater THE 100.0% Writing WRT 68.2% Course Completion by Demographic Groups (Grades A C) The graphs in Figures 2 6 show the difference in course completion rates by various demographics. Consistent with analyses presented in Tables 1 6 in this report, course completion rates for Online courses includes WEBON and WEBHY, while Traditional course completion rates includes WEBEN, WEBCP, INDIV and UNK. In addition, Independent samples t tests were conducted to find out if there were significant differences in mean grades between students taking Online courses and students taking Traditional courses. The test results are by various demographics detailed in Tables 7 9. Gender Females completed both Online and Traditional courses at a higher rate (A C) than males in 2014 as shown in Figure 2. The difference was 9.0% greater in Online courses and 8.0% greater in Traditional courses for females over males. Males in both methods of instruction attained course completion rates below the overall averages. Whereas females course completion rates exceeded the overall averages in both methods. Figure A C Course Completion by Instructional Method & Gender 80% 75% 70% 65% 60% 69% Male 66% 77% Female 75% Traditional (Overall 73%) Online (Overall 72%) Traditional include WEBEN, WEBCP, INDIV, & UNK Online include WEBON & WEBHY Page 6 of 12

7 Grade Comparison by Instructional Method & Gender In comparing mean grades for males who took Online courses and those who took Traditional courses, male students who took Traditional courses had a slightly higher mean grade than male students taking Online courses, but the difference was not statistically significant. In contrast, female students taking Traditional courses had a slightly lower mean grade compared to female students taking Online courses, and the difference was also not statistically significant (see Table 7). Table 7 Using All Grades 4.0 to 0.00 Online Traditional Gender Mean SD Mean SD P value Males Females Age Students over 25 taking either Online or Traditional courses completed courses (A C) at higher rates and above the overall rates, than students age 25 and under in both categories in The difference in course completion rates for Online courses was greater (13.0%) than the difference in Traditional courses (8.0%) between students over 25 and students 25 and under (see Figure 3). Figure A C Course Completion by Instructional Method & Age 80% 60% 71% 66% 79% 79% 40% 20% 0% 25 & Under Over 25 Traditional (Overall 73%) Online (Overall 72%) Traditional include WEBEN, WEBCP, INDIV, & UNK Online include WEBON & WEBHY Page 7 of 12

8 Grade Comparison by Instruction Method and Age In comparing mean grades, students aged 25 & under who took Traditional courses had a statistically significantly higher mean grade than those who took Online courses (p < 0.01). In contrast, students aged over 25 who took Traditional courses had a statistically significantly lower mean grade than those who took Online courses (p = 0.05; see Table 8). Table 8 Using All Grades 4.0 to 0.00 Online Traditional Age Mean SD Mean SD P value 25 & Under * Over ** * t test was statistically significant at p < 0.01 ** t test was statistically significant at p = 0.05 Enrollment Status Part time students (11 credits or less) taking Online sections completed courses (A C) at a lower rate than Full time students taking Online courses by 1.0%. Full time students taking Traditional courses had a 2.0% higher course completion rate than Full time students taking Online courses. Part time students taking Traditional or Online courses each attained a course completion rate of 72.0% (see Figure 4). Figure A C Course Completion by Instructional Method & Enrollment Status 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 72% Part Time 75% 72% 73% Full Time Traditional (Overall 73%) Online (Overall 72%) Traditional include WEBEN, WEBCP, INDIV, & UNK Online include WEBON & WEBHY Page 8 of 12

9 Grade Comparison by Instruction Method and Enrollment Status Part time students who took Online courses had a mean grade statistically significantly higher than mean grade of Part time students who took Traditional courses (p < 0.05). In contrast, the mean grade for Full time students taking Traditional courses was slightly higher than the mean grade of Online courses, but the difference was not statistically significant (see Table 9). Table 9 Using All Grades 4.0 to 0.00 Online Traditional Status Mean SD Mean SD P value Part Time * Full Time * t test was statistically significant at p < 0.05 Credits Earned Students in Traditional courses who earned one credit or more prior to 2014, had a 9.0% higher course completion rate (A C) compared to students who had not earned any credits. Students taking Online courses with one or more earned credits had a 12.0% higher course completion rate than students who had not earned any credits. Students who earned one credit or more taking either Online or Traditional courses, completed courses at higher rates than students who had not earned any credits in both categories and above the overall rates (see Figure 5). Figure A C Course Completion by Instructional Method & Earned Credits 80% 60% 40% 66% 61% 75% 73% 20% 0% No Earned Credits 1 or More Earned Credits Traditional (Overall 73%) Online (Overall 72%) Traditional include WEBEN, WEBCP, INDIV, & UNK Online include WEBON & WEBHY Page 9 of 12

10 Grade Comparison by Instruction Method and Earned Credits The mean grade for students taking Traditional courses who had earned zero credits prior to 2014, was higher than the mean grade for students taking Online courses. However, the difference was not statistically significant. In contrast, the mean grade of students taking Traditional courses who earned 1 or more credits prior to 2014 was lower than the mean grade of students taking Online courses. The mean difference was not statistically significant (see Table 10). Table 10 Using All Grades 4.0 to 0.00 Online Traditional Credits Earned Mean SD Mean SD P value 0 Earned or More Registration Date Students taking either Online or Traditional courses and registered for classes before January 1 st, 2014, had higher course completion rates (A C) than students who registered on January 1 st, 2014 or later. Students who registered before January 1 st, 2014 taking either Online or Traditional courses, completed courses at much higher rates than students who registered January 1 st, 2014 or later and above the overall rates (see Figure 6). Figure A C Course Completion by Instructional Method & Registration Date 100% 80% 60% 40% 83% 83% 55% 49% 20% 0% Registered Before Jan. 1st Registered Jan. 1st or Later Traditional (Overall 73%) Online (Overall 72%) Traditional include WEBEN, WEBCP, INDIV, & UNK Online include WEBON & WEBHY Page 10 of 12

11 Grade Comparison by Instruction Method and Registration Date For students who registered before January 1 st, 2014 and who took Online courses, had a statistically significantly higher mean grade than those taking Traditional courses (p < 0.01). Students taking Online courses who registered on January 1 st, 2014 or later had a statistically signigicantly lower mean grade than those taking Traditional courses (p < 0.01; see Table 11). Table 11 Using All Grades 4.0 to 0.00 Online Traditional Registration Date Mean SD Mean SD P value Before Aug 15 th * Aug 15 th or later * * t test was statistically significant at p < 0.01 Grade Comparison by Registration Date for All Methods of Instruction An independent samples t test was conducted to compare the mean scores of students who registered early (before January 1 st, 2014) and those who registered late (January 1 st or later) for There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.01) in the mean scores for students who registered early (2.87) and those who registered late (1.86). As seen in the previous Online reports, the results suggest that when students register early, they get higher grades regardless of the method of instruction of the class (see Table 12). Table 12 Using All Grades 4.0 to 0.00 Before Jan. 1st Jan. 1st or later Method of Instruction Mean SD Mean SD P value All Methods * * t test was statistically significant at p < 0.01 Summary 2014 experienced a decline in WEBON seats by 9.7% from The number of WEBON courses also decreased by 16.4%. WEBON course completion rate (A C) increased by 0.5%, from 64.8% in 2013 to 65.3% in The WEBHY course completion rate increased by 2.6%, from 77.0% in 2013 to 79.6% in The Traditional course completion rate also slightly increased by 0.2% from 73.1% in 2013 to 73.3% in As seen in previous year s Online courses at Northern Essex Community College reports, males, students age 25 and under, part time students, students with no earned credits, and students that registered on January 1 st,2014 or later had lower course completion rates than their Page 11 of 12

12 counterparts. Registration date had the largest difference in course completion rate with 34.0% difference for Online courses and 28.0% for Traditional courses as indicated in Figure 6. In 2014, male students taking Traditional courses had a higher mean grade than those taking Online courses. However, the difference was not statistically significant. In contrast, female students taking Traditional courses had a lower mean grade compared to female students taking Online courses but the difference was also not statistically significant. In analysis to compare the performance of students by age, Traditional students aged 25 and under had statistically significantly higher mean score than Online students of the same age category (p < 0.01). In contrast, students aged over 25 taking Traditional courses had significantly lower mean grade than students taking Online sections of the same age category (p = 0.05). Part time students who took Online courses had a mean grade statistically significantly higher than those in Traditional courses (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in mean grades between Full time students taking Traditional or Online courses. Students taking Online courses who earned no credits had lower mean scores than students taking Traditional courses. The difference was not statistically significant. The mean grade of students taking Online courses with 1 or more earned credits was higher than students taking Traditional courses. The difference was not statistically significant. Students taking Online courses who registered before January 1 st, 2014 had a statistically significantly higher mean grade than students taking Traditional courses (p < 0.01). Students who took Online courses who registered January 1 st, 2014 or later had a statistically significantly lower mean grade than students who took Traditional courses. Overall, the results suggest that when students register early, they get higher grades regardless of the method of instruction of the class. This analysis revealed that there was a remarkable increase between 2013 and 2014 in number of WEBHY courses (32.0%) and WEBHY enrollment (44.1%). Further, the course completion rate for the WEBHY courses increased considerably (2.6%) compared to WEBON (0.6%) and Traditional courses (0.3%). Page 12 of 12