Upload
barry-dahl
View
320
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
As presented at the Minnesota Desire2Learn regional User Forum, among other places.
Citation preview
Online Course
Completion Rates
Barry Dahl
Desire2Learn Community Manager
Desire2Learn Community
This Webinar
• Completion Rates for Online Courses
• What are the expectations, and why?
• How are we doing?
A
B
C D
F
Or Incomplete?
Our Grade?
What’s the Buzz?
Weekly News Articles
CCRC Reports: Washington & Virginia
http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=872
CCRC Reports: Washington & Virginia
Washington State community and technical colleges in the fall of 2004. Students were tracked for nearly five years, until the spring of 2009
“students were more likely to fail or withdraw from online courses than from face-to-face courses”
“were slightly but significantly less likely to attain an educational award or transfer to a four-year institution”
http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=872
Say What?
• “slightly but significantly less likely”
• Translation … “I’m really, really sure that there is a very small difference.”
http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/online-community-college-students-more-likely-fail-withdraw-11581
CCRC Makes Big Headlines
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/07/19/study_finds_higher_dropout_rates_for_community_college_students_who_take_online_courses
CCRC Makes Big Headlines
Can’t Sleep? Read Some Comments
http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Are-So-Many-Students-Still/127584/
The Author Asks
“But isn't it time that we had an honest national conversation
about online learning? With countless studies showing success rates in online courses of only 50 per cent—as opposed to 70-to-75 percent for comparable face-to-face classes— isn't it time we asked ourselves some serious questions? Such as: Should every course be taught online? And should we allow every student—or any student who wishes to—to take online courses?”
1 of 126 Comments
• Online education will be big in America, because that's what we do: we take sublime and beautiful European classics and turn them into pablum. We took Belgian ales and made Miller Lite, we turned Neapolitan pizza into Dominoes, Pasta became Spaghetti O's, and fresh French baguettes became Wonder bread.
• We'll do the same with school, because that's what we do.
http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Are-So-Many-Students-Still/127584/#comment-210104173
Where’s the Data?
U of Central Florida
• Center for Distributed Learning – On the average, fully online courses have
slightly lower success rates and higher withdrawal rates than either their face-to-face or Web-enhanced counterparts
– http://cdl.ucf.edu/research/rite/dl-impact-evaluation/#Success
U. North Texas – Spring 2007
• Definitions make a difference:
• Completion: finished the course – received a grade other than a W or I. (A,B,C,D,F)
• Success: is defined as earning a grade of A, B, or C for an undergraduate course.
U. North Texas – Spring 2007
0% 50% 100%
Completionon-campus
Completiononline
Successon-campus
Successonline
95%
93%
80%
74%
Undergraduates (n=7,730)
UIS (Springfield) Online Course Data
90% 91% 92% 93% 94% 95%
Fall '05
Spring '06
Summer '06
Fall '06
Spring '07
Summer '07
Completion %
http://online.uis.edu/info/completion.html
Compare To 96%
On Campus
Bellevue CC Online Course Success
http://www.sbctc.edu/docs/data/stdt_success_retention_in_online_courses_bcc.pdf
What are the
Expectations?
Expectations of Success Rates?
75% 25%
On-ground Success
A,B,C D,F,W
Expectations of Success Rates?
75% 25%
On-ground Success
A,B,C D,F,W
75% 25%
Online Success
A,B,C D,F,W
Equal?
Expectations of Success Rates?
75% 25%
On-ground Success
A,B,C D,F,W
75% 25%
Online Success
A,B,C D,F,W
WHY?
Why, indeed. For example…
• Do we expect that every math instructor will have the same success rates?
Why, indeed. For example…
• Do we expect that the accounting program and the art program will have the same success rates?
Why, indeed. For example…
• Do we expect that the urban community college and the rural community college will have the same success rates?
LSC – 3 yrs – Developmental Courses
Passing Grades: A,B,C
50%
55%
60%
65%
70%58.5%
60.9%
67.8%
Online Day Night
Demographics Differences?
32%
68%
Gender Online
Male Female
50%
50%
Gender On-Campus
Male Female
More Differences?
65%
35%
On-Campus Ages
24 & ↓ 25 & ↑
51%
49%
Online Ages
24 & ↓ 25 & ↑
First-time Learners?
Each term, how many students are sitting in a F2F (traditional) classroom for the very first time?
• Est. < 1%
First-time Learners?
Each term, how many students are sitting in a F2F (traditional) classroom for the very first time?
• Est. < .01%
Each term, how many online students are “sitting” in an online classroom for the very first time?
• Est. >= 40%
Instructors?
• Do we expect that the new online instructors will have the same success rates as experienced online instructors?
Typical “Learning Curve”
60%
70%
80%
90%
Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 4 Term 5
Success Rates – New Online Instructors
Instructor 1
Intsructor 2
Instructor 3
Fair Comparison?
On-Ground Success Rates
Online Success Rates
=
Fair Comparison?
=
Fair Comparison?
Course Withdrawal
Academic Non-success =
A Perspective from David Diaz
• “However, I believe that many online students who drop a class may do so because it is the right thing to do. In other words, because of the requirements of school, work, and/or family life in general, students can benefit more from a class if they take it when they have enough time to apply themselves to the class work.”
http://technologysource.org/article/online_drop_rates_revisited
A Perspective from David Diaz
• “Thus, by dropping the class, they may be making a mature, well-informed decision that is consistent with a learner with significant academic and life experience. This explanation would be consistent with their demographics while calling into question the idea that these students are academically unsuccessful or possess inferior academic abilities.”
http://technologysource.org/article/online_drop_rates_revisited
What to do
About It?
Potential Good Practices
• To help improve completion/success rates, consider the following:
– Required new student orientation
– Additional support mechanisms beyond the instructor
– Early intervention when they start falling behind
– Formalizing your expectations for online learners and online faculty
More Potential Good Practices
• To help improve completion/success rates, consider the following:
– Require interaction - no electronic correspondence courses (Expectations)
– Mid-term course evaluations
– Shorter class lengths (8 wks or less)
– Provide better “consumer” information pre-enrollment
– Professional Development Opportunities
One Example
Shorter Course Lengths
Why Don’t Adult Students Persist?
• From the Maricopa CC System: – 10% due to academic reasons such as course too
hard or too heavy a load.
– 65% due to life interruptions (includes the normal things of family or job issues, illness, etc. etc.)
Source: Ron Bleed, CIO of Maricopa CC (retired)
4 weeks 8 weeks
Psychology
Humanities
Biology
History
12 weeks
Example of Life Interruption
Psychology
Humanities
Biology
History
4 weeks
12 Weeks Invested, 12 Credits Paid For,
No Credits Earned,
With Little Incentive To Return
4 weeks
Psychology
Humanities
Biology
History
8 weeks
Alternate Outcome
Psychology
4 weeks
Humanities
8 weeks
Biology
12 weeks
History - No
12 Weeks Invested, 12 Credits Paid For, 9 Credits Earned,
With Greater Incentive To Return
Alternate Outcome #2
4 weeks
Psychology
Humanities
8 weeks
Biology - No
12 weeks
History - No
12 Weeks Invested, 12 Credits Paid For, 6 Credits Earned,
With Much Incentive To Return
LSC – FY2010 – All Online Courses
0%
10%
20%
30%
D,F,W
20.7%
26.2%
8-week 16-week
2.50
2.60
2.70
2.80
2.90
3.00
GPA
2.93
2.75
8-week 16-week
A Final Thought
Focus on What’s
Important
Change the Perspective
75%
25%
Online Students
Successful Non-successful
Change the Perspective
75%
25%
Online Students
Successful Non-successful
Those who need online learning for access
40%
Change the Perspective
75%
25%
Online Students
Successful Non-successful
Is this more likely?
40%
Online Course
Completion Rates
Barry Dahl
Desire2Learn Community Manager
Q & A