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• Currently Instructor in Capella University Graduate School of Education in Higher Education Leadership, former Assoc. Dean for SOE @ Capella
• Expertise and Courses In Leadership, Community College Leadership and Enrollment Management including Advising and Retention in Higher Education
• Former CEO of 4 California Community College Districts, Former Vice Chancellor of Student Services and Special Programs for the California Community College System
• “Statutory, regulatory and administrative requirements should be examined to ensure that services improve student success and increased course completions are supported and encouraged.
• Student success should be the focus of a reinvented professional development effort for community college trustees, administrators, faculty and staff.”
Community College League of California, 2011, 2020 Vision. Retrieved from cccwww.vision.2020.org“Community college reform legislation in California mandates the
development and implementation of a comprehensive accountability model. Recently, the state legislature also mandated the implementation of a performance-based funding program intended to improve educational outcomes in the state’s two-year colleges.”
RP Group, May 2, 2001, RP Group Proceedings. Retrieved from http://www.rpgroup.org/resources/accountability-educational-reform-community-colleges-policy-analytic-perspective
• Wholly online degree programs enroll over 25% of all US Students, and many institutions are reporting more than 35% of all credit hours earned online. (Boles, Cass, Levin, Schroeder, & Smith, 2011)
• Failure rates are 10-20% higher in online courses (Herbert, 2006)
• Retention in online courses can be as high as 35 – 50% lower than traditional classes (Nitsch, 2003)
• Successful practices have been found to improve course completion to within 2-3 % of traditional classes. (Boles, Cass, Levin, Schroeder, & Smith, 2011)
• Sense of Belonging• Prior Academic Success• High Internal Locus of
Control• Self-reliance and
persistence• Time-on-task• High Tolerance for Working
at Own Pace and Independently
• Attitude to look at problems with online learning as something to overcome – high tolerance for frustration and ability to navigate course platform independently
• A Comprehensive Orientation at the beginning and during 1st Semester – Student Success Course (Whatever happened to freshman orientation?)
• Explicit and repeated online discussion about course goals and procedures in the first weeks of the course, even when available in the syllabus and website
• Instructors social and managerial performance in the course may be more important to some students then pedagogical feedback.
• Early consistent contact with all students and encourage self-reliance and group identity to establish locus of control in the student.
• Faculty should be prepared to act as a liaison to technology assistance.
• Discussions are an important key to successful student retention online and the teacher, and if possible even the success manager or mentor should be very active.
References• Abel, R. (2005). Implementing Best Practices in Online Learning. EDUCAUSE Quarterly,
28 (3) Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/SustainingStudentsRetentionStr/219104
• Amukamara, R. (2012). An Exploration of Higher Education Student Services Counselors in Retaining Students of Color in Phoenix, Arizona (Unpublished doctoral dissertation proposal). Capella University, Minneapolis.
• Boettcher, J. Ten Best Practices for Teaching Online: Quick Guide for New Online Faculty. Retrieved from http://www.designingforlearning.info/services/writing/ecoach/tenbest.html
• Boles, E., Cass, F., Levin, C., Schroeder, R., & Smith, S. (2010). Sustaining Students: Retention Strategies in an Online Program. EDUCAUSE Quarterly, 33 (4) Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/UsingTechnologytoImpactStudent/219105
• Community College League of California. (2011). 2020 Vision. Retrieved from cccwww.vision.2020.org
• Grant, M. & Thornton, H. (2007). Best Practices in Undergraduate Adult-Centered Online Learning: Mechanisms for Course Design and Delivery. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 3 (4). Retrieved from http://jolt.merlot.org/vol3no4/grant.htm
• Herbert, M. (2006). Staying the Course: A Study in Online Student Satisfaction and Retention. Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/winter94/herbert94.htm
• Hill, C. (2009). Tips for Improving Online Retention. Retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/distance-learning/tips-for-improving-online-retention/
References Continued• McClenney, B. & McClenney, K. (2010) . Community College Inventory: Focus on Student
Persistence, Learning, and Attainment. Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin, Community College Leadership Program.
• Morris, L. & Finnegan, C. (2008). Best Practices in Predicting and Encouraging Student Persistence and Achievement Online. Journal of College Student Retention, 10 (1), 55-64.
• Nitsch, W.B. (2003). Examination of Factors Leading to Student Retention in Online Graduate Education. Unpublished course paper, School of Education, Capella University, Minneapolis.
• RP Group, May 2, 2001, RP Group Proceedings. Retrieved from http://www.rpgroup.org/resources/accountability-educational-reform-community-colleges-policy-analytic-perspective
• Tinto, V. (1993). The Assessment of Student Retention Programs. Retrieved from http://www.yorku.ca/retentn/rdata/assessingretention.pdf
• Waldner, L., McDaniel, D. & Widener, M. (2011) E-Advising Excellence: The New Frontier in Faculty Advising. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 7 (4). Retrieved from http://jolt.merlot.org/vol7no4/waldner_1211.pdf