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Monroe Community College 1
Data Driven Retention Strategies for Online Students
Dr. Jeffrey P. BartkovichMarie J. Fetzner
October 21, 2003
2003 League CIT
Monroe Community College 2
Purpose of Presentation
• Provide an overview of MCC’s online research agenda
• Review research that impacts online student retention– Services– Policies
• Discuss online retention strategies that are informed by research data
Monroe Community College 3
MCC’s Online Program
• Joined SUNY Learning Network (SLN) in 1997
• Fall 2002: 1,716 non-duplicated headcount– 44.2% FT; 59.8% PT– 37.4% online only; 62.6% OL and other– OL represents 10.7% of MCC’s enrollment– 71.3% Female; 28.7% Male
• Over 120 course sections
Monroe Community College 4
MCC’s Online Research Agenda
• Level 1 – Descriptive– Basic demographics– Basic production– Basic enrollment– Basic finance
Monroe Community College 5
MCC’s Online Research Agenda
• Level 2 – Evaluative– Basic performance– Student and faculty satisfaction– Integration with campus IR– Modify existing surveys “to fit”
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MCC’s Online Research Agenda
• Level 3 – Comparative– Statewide benchmarks– National benchmarks– Complete surveys-–be a case study
• Level 4 – Theoretical– External – in the literature– Internal – on the campus
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Data-Driven Retention Strategies
Part I – ServicesCharacteristics and Attitudes of
Non-Retained Online Students
Office of Educational Technology ServicesMonroe Community College
Jeff Bartkovich and Marie Fetzner
Monroe Community College 8
The Problem
Why are certain MCC online students (those with grades of F/W) not succeeding in their online courses?
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MCC’s Online Retention Research
• Archival Data Analysis– Past three years’ grades and demographics
for students in online courses retrieved from student records database
• Student Survey– Survey created and administered to
sample of students who received an “F” or “W” in an online course for the Fall semester in 2000, 2001 and 2002
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Study Limitations
• Overall response rate is low—difficulty in obtaining responses from the target population (contact information)
• Small sample size (especially for Hispanic and Asian students)
• Ability to generalize
• Good News: feedback was received from non-retained online students
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Basic Student Demographics OL and Site-based, By
Percent*Spring 2002 Fall 2002
OL Site-based
OL Site-based
Female 68 55 71 55
Male 32 45 29 45
Minority 20 25 19 24
Non-Minority 80 75 81 76
Less than 20 18 27 15 30
20-24 33 33 35 32
25-29 16 11 15 11
30 and over 33 29 34 27*SOURCE: MCC Institutional Research Office
Monroe Community College 12
Overall Grade DistributionOL vs. Site-based, By
Percent*
*SOURCE: MCC Institutional Research Office
**Includes + and -
Spring 2002 Fall 2002
Grade ** OL Site-based OL Site-based
A 34.5 32.8 34.0 28.7
B 20.5 26.1 19.7 26.2
C 10.0 15.3 10.6 15.2
D 3.9 5.0 3.7 5.1
F 12.9 8.2 14.1 7.4
W 16.3 11.4 14.5 10.7
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Grade RatesOL vs. Site-based, Fall
Semester
1999 2000 2001 2002
OL N 970 1,417 1,916 2473
C and Higher
69.7% 65.8% 65.3% 63.6%
F/W 24.8% 26.4% 29.7% 30.2%
MCC N 43,779 45,235 48,288 52,428
C and Higher
70.3% 69.7% 70.7% 70.7%
F/W 20.0% 21.3% 20.6% 20.5%
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Success Rates in Comparable Online and Traditional
Courses% C or Better Percentage
Online Traditional
Point Difference
Total 65.3 69.6 -4.3
Full-timePart-time
56.374.1
70.366.7
-13.97.4
1st time FT1st time & at risk1st time & not at risk
40.744.466.3
72.266.674.0
-31.9-22.2-7.7
Under 25 years of age25 year of age or older
55.076.3
67.875.7
-12.80.7
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Top 10 Reasons for MCC Non-retained OL
students
When asked to identify the one reason why they were not successful in their online course, students reported that they:
1. Couldn’t handle the balance between school and other responsibilities (15%)
2. Got behind, couldn’t catch up (13%)3. Course was too unstructured (13%)4. Lacked the needed computer skills (13%)5. Personal problems (10%)
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Top 10 Reasons, con’t
6. Course was too hard (9%)7. Lacked motivation (5%)8. Course took too much time (5%)9. Space opened up in a campus-based
class (5%)10.Didn’t like the instructor’s teaching
style (3%)
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Reasons for Taking an OL Course*
• Reasons for Taking Course Online:– Conflict with Personal Schedule 49%– Family Responsibilities 23%– Distance or Transportation 10%– Other 10%– Course Not Offered on Campus 5%– Interest in Technology/Internet 3%
*Retained Students
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Reasons for Taking an OL Course
MCC vs. all other SUNY Students*
• PRIMARY Reason MCC* SUNY*– Personal Schedule Conflict 49% 31%– Family Responsibilities 23% 16%– Distance or Transportation 10% 20%– Other 10% 12% – Not Offered On Campus 5% 15%– Interactive Technology 3% 7%
*Retained Students
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Retention Data
• Conducting further analysis to investigate the relationship between online student reasons for non-success, and satisfaction variables for successful online students
• Services that were implemented as a result of the retention study to be discussed after information is presented in Part II
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Data-Driven Retention Strategies
Part II - Policies
An Analysis of SLN Students’ Performance and Differentiation
Office of Institutional ResearchMonroe Community College
Angel Andreu
Monroe Community College 21
The Problem
It is observed that the failure and withdrawal (F/W) grades for online students are increasing in number and percentage.
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The Observation
Percentage of F/W Grades, Fall Semester
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Online* 19 25 26 30 30
College 17 20 21 21 21
*N in 1998 was 409; 2002 was 2,473
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The Research
Previous research identified characteristics of students at risk of F/W grades in online courses. These were:
– First time students– Full-time students with less than 30
earned credits– Students under the age of 25– Minority students
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The Research
The MCC “Andreu” study affirmed these characteristics and looked specifically at:– Time of registration– Basic academic skills
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The Data: Time of Registration
• Only 7% of the “C or better” students registered during the first week of classes, compared to 16% of the “F/W” students
• Students who registered during the first week of classes had a 50/50 chance of earning a grade of C or better
• The odds of getting C or better decreased by 13% for each week closer to the first week of classes
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The Data: Age
• 65% of the F/W grades were among students under the age of 25
• Between the ages of 21 and 22, a student had a 50/50 chance of earning a C or better
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The Data: Age
Probability of Earning
An SLN GPA of C or Better
Figure 7
AGE, Years
605040302010
Pre
dic
ted
pro
ba
bili
ty
1.00
.90
.80
.70
.60
.50
.40
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The Data:Age and Time of
Registration
• Age and time of registration are each significant contributors to grade performance
• Their interaction is not significant• The best chance of getting a C or
better– Register 5 weeks before the start of the
semester– Be age 25 or above
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The Data: Experience(i.e. number of accumulated credit
hours)
• The rate of F/W grades between first and second year students is significant
• Experience is not significant when combined with age or time of registration
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The Data: Part/Full Time Status
• Part/Full time status is not significant • The interaction of status and age was
significant
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The Data:Part/Full Time Status
Estimated Marginal Means of SLN GPA
Figure 10
Age Group
30 & Over25 - 2920 - 24Less Than 20
Est
ima
ted
GP
A M
ea
ns
3.2
3.0
2.8
2.6
2.4
2.2
2.0
1.8
1.6
1.4
Status
Full-Time
Part-Time
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The Data:Basic Academic Skills
• MCC’s ACCUPLACER tool– The variables used included reading
and sentence scores– The metrics are placement scores at
the college English level (78 for reading, 83 for sentences)
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The Data:Basic Academic Skills
• For students to have a 50/50 chance of earning a C or better in an online course, their basic academic skills should be at the college English level
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What Does the Analysis Show?
Factors important to success in online courses:– Time of registration– The age of the student– The academic preparedness of the
student
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What Does the Analysis Show?
Factors in the decision model:– College is enrollment driven– The online program is supporting
enrollment growth– The demographics of enrollment
growth for the College are the same demographics of non-success in online courses
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What Does the Analysis Show?
Policy Factors:– Should policy account for motivation– At what “odds of failure” do we restrict
enrollment– Should online growth be allowed to
continue to support college enrollment growth
– What is the balance between student success and online enrollment growth
Monroe Community College 37
Policy Development 1
• In all cases, a student with an ACCUPLACER score below 78 (reading) and/or 83 (sentence) is prohibited from taking an online course at MCC.
• This prohibition is lifted at such time that the student successfully completes the Transitional Studies coursework appropriate to address the deficiency.
• All online sections will be closed to registration one week before the start of class. Qualified students (see definition on next slide) who wish to enroll after this date will be allowed to “green slip” in until the College’s ‘Add’ deadline.
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Policy Development 1
• Qualified students include mature students with a record of success in college-level coursework. Student must also have satisfactory ACCUPLACER scores to have successfully completed the Transitional Studies coursework appropriate to address any deficiency. Students who have successfully completed an online course previously are also considered qualified. Note that data indicate that students 22 years old or older have a significantly greater chance of success in online coursework.
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Policy Development 2
Considerations– Forget policy, make it a course
prerequisite– Must be programmable– Cannot rely upon faculty involvement
for exceptions due to availability– Does resolution of the online problem
become a standard
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Policy Development 3
Draft X– Students in remedial English courses
are prohibited from enrolling in online courses
– All registrations for online courses are closed on the first day of classes
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Research to Inform Practice:
Student Advice
Question to online students who received F/W grade on their online course:
“What advice would you give a fellow student considering registering for an online course?”
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Research to Inform Practice: Student Advice
• Results – Top Five Topics– Be ready for independent learning. Must
be self-motivated.– Once you get started, stay on track.– Online courses require lots of reading,
homework and research. Get ready for the demands.
– Must develop a schedule to go online, must manage your time.
– Talk to other people, other students before you take the class and during the class
Monroe Community College 43
Research to Inform Practice:
Student Advice
• Practical Use of Online Student Advice– Integrate into brochures, orientation
seminars– Do mock testimonies for video displays – Share with Counseling and Advising staff– Share with Faculty
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Research to Inform Practice:Managing Services
• Manage the Expectations– Additional pre-start information sharing– Additional orientations offered
• Manage the Support Services– Greater integration with support team
– Additional points of access to services
• Manage the Academics– Faculty course design issues and training– Emphasis on multiple interactions
Monroe Community College 45
Research to Inform Practice:Managing Services
• Manage the Expectations– Welcome Letter from Academic Vice
President has been expanded– Face-to-face student orientations offered*
– MCC Online Orientation CD distributed
– Phone Calls made to all Fall 2002 Online Students and 1st-time Spring 2003 Online Students
*additional analysis conducted
Monroe Community College 46
Research to Inform Practice:Managing Services
• Manage the Support Services– Student Services web page expansion
– Revisions made to the service gateway to online learning web page
– Brochures at Records and Registration and at the Counseling Center
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Research to Inform Practice:Managing Services
• Manage the Academics– Retention strategies integrated into
faculty trainings
– Discipline-specific retention studies
– Discussions on other academic support—online tutoring, writing centers, etc.
– Pilot test CourseSpace (use of online template for web course enhancement)
Monroe Community College 48
Research to Inform Practice:
On-campus Orientation
Question:
Is there value to an on-campus orientation course for online performance?
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Research to Inform Practice:
On-campus Orientation
On-Campus Orientation Results: – Most students felt they had the necessary skills
to be successful– Skill preparation is not related to performance – Students who attended the on-campus program
were more likely to earn a C or better C/Better F/W
On-campus Orientation 78% 18%Online Orientation only 64% 30%
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Research to Inform Practice:
On-campus Orientation
To Continue the Course– Practice Demonstration Course– Structure not Skills– Market the grade differential– Keep faculty involved in the program to
provide “authentic experience”
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Research to Inform Practice:
On-campus Orientation
Question: How do you define retention?
It depends:– Research–two basic presentations
As an enrollment statistic As a performance indicator
– Policy Be consistent, clarify your statistics
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Defining the Retention and Withdrawal Rates
All SLN Courses Fall 2002Annual 2002-03
First day enrollment 1851 4154
First week enrollment 1857 4225
Census day enrollment
1714 3847
Last day enrollment 1716 3832
Retention as an enrollment statistic
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Online Retention Rates
Fall 2002 1st Week Census Day Last Day
1st Day 1.02 .94 .95
1st Week .92 .92
Census 1.00
All 2002-03 1st Week Census Day Last Day
1st Day 1.02 .93 .92
1st Week .91 .91
Census 1.00
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Defining the Retention and Withdrawal Rates
Retention as a performance measure(All SLN Courses)
Grade Fall 2002Annual
2002-2003
A to D 1,253 2,755
F, W, Other 463 1,077
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Withdrawal Rates:All MCC and Online
Fall 2002F&W
Grades
Spring 2003F&W
Grades
2002-2003F&W
Grades
All MCC 20.5% 19.6% 19.5%
Online Only 30.0% 29.5% 28.1%
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Next Steps:Things to Consider
• Services • Policies• Definition of “Retention” for data
collection• Replicate studies at other institutions
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Contact Information
Dr. Jeffrey P. [email protected]
Marie J. [email protected]
– MCC Web Page: www.monroecc.edu
– MCC Online Learning page:http://www.monroecc.edu/depts/distlearn/index.htm