Online Student Retention

Transcription

1 SUNY TLT Annual Conference Dec. 6/7, 2005 Online Student Retention 1

2 Online Student Retention Jeff Bartkovich VP, Educational Technologies Monroe Community College Bob Knipe Dean, Learning Technologies Genesee Community College

3 Monroe Community College & Genesee Community College Both are mature programs with high faculty / student acceptance & DL enculturation DL comprises +/- 10% of institutional FTE Established faculty training programs Complete degree programs available online

4 Monroe Community College & Genesee Community College Virtual student support services well institutionalized Course management systems: MCC uses SLN exclusively GCC uses WebCT >90%, SLN <10% NOT a factor in demographics, retention, student satisfaction or other significant variables

5 MCC / GCC Online Student Retention Demographic constants Convenience, not geography, is #1 enrollment motivator (for community colleges, it s not about distance) Consistency with national & regional studies

6 MCC / GCC Online Student Retention Demographic changes over time Online courses more attractive to younger students (than older DL formats) On-time course completion rates are lower than 10 years ago

7 Online Student Retention Defining Retention Rates Examples of DL Retention Rates Retention Research Findings Examples of Retention Initiatives, Best Practices Research Design: What Was The Question?

8 Defining Retention Question: How do you define retention? It depends: As an enrollment statistic As a performance indicator

9 As An Enrollment Statistic: Monroe CC All MCC Online Courses Fall 2003 Annual First day enrollment First week enrollment Census day enrollment Last day enrollment

10 As An Enrollment Statistic: Monroe CC Fall st st Week Census Day Last Day 1 st st Day st Week 1 st Census 1.00 All st st Week Census Day Last Day 1 st st Day st st Week Census 1.00

11 Retention as Performance Measure (MCC Online Courses) Grade Fall 2003 Annual A, B, C, D 1,253 2,755 F, W, Other 463 1,077

12 Retention (Performance) Rates: MCC Fall 2003 F&W Grades Spring 2004 F&W Grades F&W Grades All MCC 20.5% 19.6% 19.5% Online Only 30.0% 29.5% 28.1%

13 Retention (Performance) Rates: GCC Summer 2003, Fall 2003, & Spring 2004 Courses which had a distance and lecture component taught in same term 35.0% 32.5% 30.0% 32.3% 25.0% 26.4% 22.2% 20.0% 15.0% 18.8% 16.3% 14.4% Distance Lecture 10.0% 10.1% 11.4% 6.0% 5.0% 5.1% 4.4% 0.0% A B C D F W

14 MCC: Overall Grade Distribution Online vs. Site-based (as %) Spring 2003 Fall 2003 Grade OL Site-based OL Site-based A B C D F W

15 MCC Grades in Matched Online and Site-based Courses Site-based, n = 16,291 Online, n = 1,719 Total Full-time Part-time time 1 st time FT 1 st time & at risk 1 st time & not at risk Under 25 years of age 25 years of age or older % C or Better Online Site- based Percentage Point Difference

16 Course Retention by Discipline (MCC) Biology Business History English Subject Criminal Justice Health Education Mathematics Sociology % C and Better Online % C and Better On-Campus

17 Percentage of F/W Grades (Monroe CC, Fall Semesters) Online 26% All-MCC 21% 21 22

18 Percentage of F/W Grades (Genesee CC, ) 2004) DL 19.1% 30.6% All-GCC 19.2% 18.8%

19 Research: Characteristics of students at higher risk of F/W grades in online courses: First-time time online students Full-time students with <30 earned credits Students under the age of 25 (especially males) Minority students

20 The Data: Age Probability of Earning An SLN GPA of C or Better 1.00 Figure 7 Predicted probability AGE, Years

21 Basic Academic Skills: A 21 / 22 year old student has a 50/50 chance of earning a C or better 65% of F/W grades were among students under the age of 25 For a 50/50 chance of earning a C or better in any online course, basic academic skills should be at college English level

22 Success Prediction Factors : Time of registration Age Academic preparedness Developmental Course Needs Previous College Work GPA

23 Success Prediction Factors : Advising (self, institutional) Early intervention by faculty Gatekeeping initiatives: Technical competence tests Pre-term engagement w. process Orientation (virtual or online) Identifying the overextended student

24 Best Practices: Experienced & well trained faculty (including retention strategies) Technical support Standard course management platform Robust student self-advising tools Pre-course orientation (on-site, virtual, or both) Course design includes early, frequent & purposeful interaction

25 Best Practices: Manage student expectations up front (readiness checks, web info, etc.) Informed advisors Pre-enrollment enrollment screening (gatekeeping?) Early & substantive course feedback Early intervention by faculty

26 Best Practices: Virtual student support services: admissions, registration, business processes, financial aid, library, tutoring, counseling, testing, writing centers... Info consistency & redundancy: web, print, , telephone... Institutional consistency of message Opportunity for faculty to share best practices Solicit and use student feedback

27 What We Still Don t Know Good research starts with good questions (who, what, when, where, how, why). What are other colleges experiencing? Learn from and replicate research.

28 What We Still Don t Know Data proof: when intervention is suggested, need control vs. experimental group evidence.

29 What We Still Don t Know Qualitative research can be helpful: structured focus groups, etc. What other questions do we need to be asking?

30 Online Student Retention Q & A Thank you... Thank you very much.