Online Student Retention: What Does it Take for Students to Go the Distance?

Andrea HenneJune 2013

Online Student Retention: What Does it Take for Students to Go the Distance? Online Student Retention: What Does it Take for Students to Go the Distance?

Online Student Retention: What Does it Take for Students to Go the Distance?

Andrea Henne, EdDDean, Online and Distributed Learning

District Instructional Services and PlanningSan Diego Community College District

FTES GrowthFTES Growth FTES GrowthFTES Growth

365

692 652

1354

2270

3549

4087

4676

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-09

Online Enrollments

18,18918,256

15,781

11,932

7,038

11,295

17,397

13,338

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

20000

Fall 2005 Spring 2006 Fall 2006 Spring 2007 Fall 2007 Spring 2008 Fall 2008 Spring 2009

Duplicated HeadcountDuplicated Headcount

Facts at a Glance - CCC’sFacts at a Glance - CCC’sFacts at a Glance - CCC’sFacts at a Glance - CCC’s

Distance Education (DE) Retention and Success RatesSource: CCC DataMart http://www.cccco.edu

Statewide Snapshot: Spring 2009

DE = 11% of all credit enrollments = 423,433 DE enrollments – duplicated headcounts

RetentionDE = 78.67% (Numerator: Number of enrollments with A,B,C,D,F,CR,NC,I*,P,NP

Denominator: Number of enrollments with A,B,C,D,F,CR,NC,W,I*,P,NP,DR) Non-DE = 84.72%6.05% difference

Success Rate(Numerator: Number of enrollments with A,B,C,CR,P

Denominator: Number of enrollments with A,B,C,D,F,CR,NC,W,I*,P,NP,DR)

DE = 58.01%

Non-DE = 68.0610.05% difference

Retention Rates for San Diego City College

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Semester

Distance Education Courses 72.80 70.19 69.18 70.37 72.73 70.28 74.53 75.49 76.27

Non-Distance Education Courses 80.33 81.86 81.31 83.60 82.17 82.97 82.62 83.77 83.14

S 2005 F 2005 S 2006 F 2006 S 2007 F 2007 S 2008 F2008 S2009

DE EnrollmentsSpring 2005 = 1,765Spring 2009 = 6,771

Retention Rates for San Diego Mesa College

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S 2005 F 2005 S 2006 F 2006 S 2007 F 2007 S 2008 F2008 S2009


Retention Rates for San Diego Miramar College

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S 2005 F 2005 S 2006 F 2006 S 2007 F 2007 S 2008 F2008 S2009

DE EnrollmentsSpring 2005 = 3,056 Spring 2009 = 5,507

Top Reasons for Enrolling in DE Course?Top Reasons for Enrolling in DE Course?

California Community Colleges Distance Education Retention (W and DR in Fall 2008)Survey – February 2009

3,227 respondents from 44 CCCs

My work schedule is heavy and a distance education course is more convenient.Personal circumstances (family, health, etc) made a distance education class more convenient.I had a good experience with a distance education course before.The same class on-campus was full.I travel sometimes and could not attend an on-campus class regularly.

Reasons at the SDCCD?Reasons at the SDCCD?

Top Reasons for Dropping DE Course?Top Reasons for Dropping DE Course?

Preliminary Results from California Community Colleges Distance Education Retention (W and DR in Fall 2008)

Survey – February 20093,227 respondents from 44 CCCs

Top Reasons for Dropping DE Course:

I had personal problems (family, health, job, childcare, etc).I could not handle the combined study plus work responsibilities.I got behind and it was hard to catch up.Directions to get started in and manage this course were poor.Interaction with the instructor was lacking.

Reasons at the SDCCD?Reasons at the SDCCD?

What Does it Take to Retain Online Students?What Does it Take to Retain Online Students?What Does it Take to Retain Online Students?What Does it Take to Retain Online Students?

Online Students

Student Services Student Preparation

Faculty Trainingand Support

Course Design and

Continuous Improvement


Online Students



Course Design and


Essential Student Support ServicesEssential Student Support ServicesEssential Student Support ServicesEssential Student Support Services

Admissions

Counseling/Advising

Financial Aid

Placement

Tutoring

Library

Essential Student Support ServicesEssential Student Support ServicesEssential Student Support ServicesEssential Student Support Services

Tuesday, October 6 & Thursday, October 8 @ 1-2:30 EDT(2-part workshop)http://www.innovativeeducators.org/retention_p/722.htmA case study from Rio Salado Community College will present best practices for promoting retention in an online learningenvironment. The session will highlight the innovative use of data to identify students who may need additional support. The use of predictive modeling analytics and how it can convert this data into action by identifying learners with the highest risk of attrition and the circumstances affecting their success will be discussed. Presenters will show how you can use this data to design a corresponding communication campaign and develop other relevant instructor strategies for retaining and reaching online students.


Online Students



Course Design and


Student Preparation for Online Learning SuccessStudent Preparation for Online Learning SuccessStudent Preparation for Online Learning SuccessStudent Preparation for Online Learning Success

Students: http://www.sdccdonline.net/students

Online Learning Readiness Assessment

Tutorials

Practice Course

Orientations (online & on-campus)

“Netiquette” guidance

24/7/365 Technical Support

Well-Prepared Students Well-Prepared Students are More Likely to Persist are More Likely to Persist

Online Learning Readiness Assessmenthttp://www.sdccdonline.net/assess.htm

Course Information Pageshttp://www.sdccdonline.net/infoPages.cfm

Tutorials and Student Orientation http://www.sdccdonline.net/students/training

Consistent Look and FeelConsistent Look and Feel

Sample Course @ http://online.sdccd.edu

Login = newstudent/newstudent


Online Students



Course Designand


Faculty Training and SupportFaculty Training and SupportFaculty Training and SupportFaculty Training and Support

Faculty: http://www.sdccdonline.net/faculty

Online Faculty Mentors

Blackboard Training

Pedagogy Training

Readiness Checklists

Instructional Design Support

24/7/365 Technical Support

Instructional Technology Workshops

Online Faculty Resource Center

Systematic Approach to Faculty DevelopmentSystematic Approach to Faculty Development

Tools & Pedagogy: Orientation followed by 8-10 hours learning online as student and as designer/instructor

10+ hours of instructional design support

One-to-one appointments ongoing Sharing, Collaborating, ModelingSharing, Collaborating, Modeling

Breakfast of ChampionsBreakfast of Champions

Online Teaching Excellence Online Teaching Excellence SymposiumSymposium

Pedagogy of Online RetentionPedagogy of Online RetentionPedagogy of Online RetentionPedagogy of Online Retention

Motivation Engagement Communication Sense of Achievement and Progress Support

CommunicationCommunicationCommunicationCommunication

Excerpted from Chickering and Gamson

Encourage contact betweenstudents and faculty. Right from the start.

Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students - by creating a community of learners on the

discussion board

Chickering, A. W. & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE Bulletin, pp. 3-7. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED282491).

EngagementEngagementEngagementEngagement

Encourage active learning. Vary the activities. Emphasize the relevance. Ask students’ opinions/feedback. Experiment with online collaboration tools—blogs,

wikis, VoiceThread, Google Docs, Elluminate

Sense of Achievement & ProgressSense of Achievement & ProgressSense of Achievement & ProgressSense of Achievement & Progress

Give prompt, personalized feedback. Use rubrics to streamline grading. Recognize accomplishments.

MotivationMotivationMotivationMotivation

Relevant Varied Interesting Challenging Encouraging


Online Students



Course Designand


Online Teaching Proficiency Checklist

Recommended Components of a Learning Module

Checklist of Course Readiness

Syllabus Quality Checklist

Framework for Course Framework for Course Development /Review/RevisionDevelopment /Review/Revision

http://http://www.sdccdonline.net/faculty/resourceswww.sdccdonline.net/faculty/resources

Positive Feedback from Online StudentsPositive Feedback from Online Students

A great English professor, who was always online whenever you needed him to be; having enough time during the week to turn in all the homework, quizzes, tests, and essays; great textbook, and the variety of resources available for the student to contact either the professor, and/or other classmates.


Everything, the prompt reply from the Professor, the way everything is organized. It is hard to not understand the instructions. They are very clear and easy to follow.


I found the online discussion group was a good replacement for class discussion. I found the online homework assignments with teacher feedback and grading gave me a chance to stand out and show I was really putting in the effort to learn the material. This hopefully made up for the unproctored testing, which was not as stressful or challenging as a test in a classroom (although for me, I believe the online testing was effective.)


Professor **** was extremely diligent in sending reminders for every deadline (quiz, reports, tests) as well as very responsive to any questions emailed to her. She also gave advanced notice when she would not be available to log-in, giving the students ample time to look ahead and present questions before she was unavailable, i.e. weekends or gone for conferences.


The Instructor was amazing! The discussion boards really helped to put things into perspective.

Student Name

Student Testimonial:Student Testimonial:

As a re-entry student, taking Business Communications 119 as an online class has been very beneficial. I have a full-time job and am faced with the usual challenges of any working student. Initially, I was skeptical about whether I would derive as much value from taking an online class as I would if I was in a traditional classroom setting. I am excited to report that the format has worked very well for me. Online learning affords me: a flexible schedule in which to complete coursework; the structure to needed maintain momentum; the ability to engage in “conversations” with fellow students via discussion boards; and, the constructive feedback and encouragement from my instructor, xxxx, via emails. The experience has inspired me to seek out other online courses as I register for the next semester. I am grateful for this new avenue of learning, as it will assist in expediting my ability to transfer to a university.

Student Testimonial:Student Testimonial:

Online learning has been an outstanding experience for me. It is fun and convenient. I am a working mother of 2 and my husband works evenings. It would be quite difficult to go to school at night. Online learning is great because I can access it anytime, any day, from anywhere. Not to mention my teacher is wonderful. She is easy to contact if I need help and she also is extremely encouraging. I used to think that it would be harder for a teacher to help the students, but I was wrong, it's not. I like that I can pace myself and do as much I can. Online learning has been greatly rewarding and I look forward to continuing my education this way.

Retention Rates for San Diego City College

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6.87% Difference

Retention Rates for San Diego Mesa College

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S 2005 F 2005 S 2006 F 2006 S 2007 F 2007 S 2008 F2008 S2009


2.93% Difference

Retention Rates for San Diego Miramar College

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S 2005 F 2005 S 2006 F 2006 S 2007 F 2007 S 2008 F2008 S2009

DE EnrollmentsSpring 2005 = 3,056 Spring 2009 = 5,507

6.12% Difference

Following UpFollowing UpFollowing UpFollowing Up

http://www.sdccdonline.net

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Online Student Retention: What Does it Take for Students to Go the Distance?

Documents

credit ftes

annual ftes report summary

online student retention

online class

online course enrollment

college level1 cdcp

credit enrollments

source of semester data