Increasing Student Retention in Online Education
The availability of online distance education courses has grown tremendously over the past decade. According to a 2007 study by the Sloan Consortium titled Online Nation, nearly 20 percent of all college students in the fall 2006 semester were enrolled in at least one online course - a statistic that serves as evidence of the acceptability of online learning and the quality of the instruction.
Nevertheless, while online education from accredited colleges and universities has been proven as effective as on-campus courses, some institutions have struggled to increase the retention rates of their online student body. Attrition refers to the number of students who drop out of a class after enrollment. According to a 2007 study titled Strategies to Engage Online Students and Reduce Attrition, attrition rates for online classes are 10 to 20 percent higher than those for on-campus classes.
There are a number of reasons why this is the case, and they are not all related to the quality of the online education. Many of the students who are attracted to online distance education courses are individuals with family, work or other personal obligations that require the flexibility and convenience of online learning. These students who don't have the time or the ability to take on-campus courses have a higher risk of falling behind in their studies or dropping out of courses altogether because of their busy schedules.
Why retention rates matter
Online student retention is important for colleges and universities for a few reasons. First is the economic impact of losing a percentage of their registered students - students who now won't be paying tuition.
Second - and perhaps even more important - is the perceived quality of the institution itself. Students who drop out of online classes may blame the school for their failure to complete a course and share this dissatisfaction to friends and relatives, leading to poor "word of mouth" reviews. Retention rates are also used by regional and national agencies as part of the accreditation process. If a college or university is denied accreditation, students will lose access to federal student aid and the school itself will lose a great deal of its educational integrity.
The importance of communication
Dr. Lucia Vanderpool is an associate professor of computer science at Baptist College of Health Sciences in Memphis, Tennessee. She is also a faculty mentor with the Tennessee Board of Regents Online Degree Program, where she helps new faculty members prepare for online instruction. "Communication is key," Lucia Vanderpool said. "I believe of everything we could talk about [regarding online retention], communication is the most important."
Vanderpool stresses the importance of interacting directly with students - particularly during the first few days and weeks of class. "This is when you lose or keep students," she said. "You need to get them interested. It is crucial in terms of retention that a student knows the professor is there."
Dr. Jonathan Rich, psychology professor at California Southern University, agrees. "You have to make up for the face-to-face contact," Rich said. "One of the things that is very important is reassuring students and getting back to them quickly."
Both Vanderpool and Rich make it a point to open the lines of communication during the first few days of class and get to know their students on a personal level. "On the first day of class when students first check in, I welcome them to class, direct them to the syllabus and facilitate the introduction of themselves to other classmates. [This helps] students feel like they are connecting with a real person, not just a computer."
Rich said that he send an introductory email to each student, asks students about themselves and tries to develop connections based on common interests. This communication may also take place over the phone, he said.
This additional level of communication in the first days of an online class can be particularly important for students who are taking an online course for the first time, Vanderpool said. "They may need extra help getting started," she said. "By increasing the level of communication now, there will be fewer problems going forward."
Once the course is in full swing, communication remains important - particularly in regards to answering questions, clarifying assignments, moderating forum discussions and calling students directly. "I tell instructors that if they don't have the desire or ability to check and answer their class email every day, they probably won't enjoy teaching online," Vanderpool said.
Response time can make a difference.
According to Vanderpool, there tends to be a big difference between what instructors and students believe is an appropriate response time for email correspondence. Many instructors, she said, think that 48 hours is an acceptable amount of time for responding to emails. Students, on the other hand, expect communication within 24 hours or less. "The minute they post an email or question in the forum and don't get a response, they get frustrated," she said. "It's important that professors understand the students' expectations."
If instructors won't be able to check and respond to emails every day, they should make it clear to students when they can expect a response - whether it be within 48 hours or on certain days of the week. "Students will be understanding if they know what to expect," Vanderpool said.
Studies support the importance of creating a student-centered learning environment with open communication between faculty and students. The 2007 study, Strategies to Engage Online Students and Reduce Attrition, stated that the "goal of the professor is to develop relationships with students so that they feel comfortable in the environment. Students need the opportunity to get to know each other and feel comfortable before learning takes place."
Developing an online learning community
On a college campus, students can meet after class to hang out and support each other throughout the educational process. "We try to simulate that online through forums," Rich said.
At California Southern University, each class has its own forum where students and instructors can discuss class topics and ask questions. Students also have access to forums where they can connect with students in their same major, discuss personal issues or simply talk about their favorite movies.
These forums and discussion boards can be extremely beneficial, not just for social interaction and community building, but in helping students learn. "It's important that we encourage students to ask questions on the discussion boards, because other students may have the same questions," Vanderpool said. "It helps create a learning community."
The evolution of online learning
Both Vanderpool and Rich have been actively involved in online education for more than a decade and have seen a huge evolution in how distance education courses are taught.
In the early days of online education, "most faculty thought that putting all of their lectures on PowerPoint slides and posting them on the Internet was the way to teach an online course," Vanderpool said. "Students were much more on their own and as retention rates dropped, professors realized the importance of treating an online class like a face to face class."
The social networking and multimedia tools that are available now have been very beneficial in increasing the effectiveness of online learning. "These tools allow us to give students access to more information and, at the same time, appeal to a variety of learning styles," she said.
When Rich began teaching correspondence courses as California Southern University in 1994, all of the distance education courses were taught through the mail. He said that the evolution to online courses has resulted in higher levels of retention. "Students would complete assignments, send them through the mail and have to wait at least two weeks before they found out if an assignment had been lost, " he said. " It was very frustrating."
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