Innovations 2010
Baltimore, MD
Tools and Best Practices for Improving Student Persistence
in Online/Distance Learning
A Sampler of Resources & Best Practices
Contributors:
Makeever Clarke, Jefferson Community College
Martie Dixon, Erie Community College
Sue Gallagher, Hudson Valley Community College
Jeff Getchell, Del Mar College
Terry Keys, Monroe Community College
Bob Knipe, Genesee Community College
Chrisie Mitchell, Dutchess Community College
Peggy VanKirk, Monroe Community College
… and many others
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Our Top Ten Student Risk Factors
1.
Time of registration
2.
Inappropriate or Lack of Advising
3.
Age
4.
Engagement
5.
Developmental Needs
6.
Gender
7.
Technical Factors
8.
First-Time DL Student
9.
Previous Success with College Level Work
10.
Learning Style
Spheres of Persistence Control / Stakeholders:
Instructional Design (faculty, Instructional Designers/MIDs)
Gatekeeping
(DL Office, Records/Registrar, Advising, Admissions)
Systemic (everyone; institution-wide)
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TOOLS & BEST PRACTICES: A Basic Inventory
Instructional Design & Delivery (faculty, Instructional Designers/MIDs)

Risk Factor - Student Engagement
Strategy / Tool / Practice
Comment/Examples
Pre-course engagement
Building Online Student Success (B.O.S.S.) Handbook:
www.monroecc.edu/depts/distlearn/BOSS-Handbook.pdf
Online tutorial, Monroe CC: www.monroecc.edu/depts/distlearn/BOSS
Online tutorial, SUNY Learning Network: http://sln.suny.edu/oc/oc_overview.shtml
Provide faculty training in instructional
design
Genesee CC’s Instructional Design course fits in Teacher Ed Transfer curriculum, 3 cr., co-taught,
for faculty only.
College collects FTE, provides FT faculty 1 course release (from normal 5-course load).
Provide faculty training opportunities with
CMS software
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Require or encourage faculty “certification”
in online course design, construction &
teaching
ECC Teaching Online with ANGEL course – online, 2 weeks, faculty experience being an online
student in a well developed, ADA compliant course.
Comprehensive faculty training provided by
SLN and in-house at MCC
Variety of training sessions geared to faculty schedules; niches, Sat. am, lunch hours, brown
bags, individual appts., new FIC help, etc. MCC also has an extensive online faculty training
database.
Summer “boot camp” for Blackboard (or Angel) training (1-week, 3-day, 2-day)
Instructional Design course incorporates CMS integration
Friday Blackboard brown-bags
ANGEL roundtables: monthly users sharing sessions
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Provide faculty with models, rubric, “best
practices” tools
Quality Matters rubric: http://deoracle.org/university-showcase/papers-studies/quality-mattersassuring-the-quality-of-online-courses.html
for information)
MIDs work one-on one with faculty to design
and develop the courses.
Instructional designers assist faculty with pedagogy, design and technological features of online
courses.
Workshops throughout semester
I.T. Dept. offers continuous learning to faculty.
Monthly brown bags best practices and
effective tools
D.L. Office hosts monthly meetings to invite colleagues to share their effective online techniques,
to discuss best practices and to demonstrate tools that they believe are making a difference in the
way their students learn (such as Camtasia and Wimba).
Provide frequent faculty opportunity for
collegial interaction
Friday Blackboard brown-bags
Direct faculty intervention with nonparticipating students after first, second or
third week of term
Some faculty may believe direct intervention with students is “not my job.” Research on best
practices in successful retention suggests otherwise.
http://www.campustechnology.com/articles/62560/
Faculty directly email non-participating
students before “drop w/o penalty” date (precensus), with warning.
Research
This study addresses differences in faculty, student and administrative perspectives
(convenience, flexibility, academic rigor, services) on the goals of online courses, persistence
problems which can occur when there is disjuncture, and remedies.
http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no1/stanford-bowers0308.htm
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Gatekeeping (DL Office, Records/Registrar, Advising, Admissions) - Policy

Risk Factor - Time of Registration
Strategy / Tool / Practice
Comment/Examples
Block registration (in MIS) in online sections
after course start date
Require completion of readiness assessment(s)
Require instructor permission
Require DL office permission
Genesee Community College blocks registration in online courses as of first day of classes,
requiring instructor and dean permission after that date. Since this policy was implemented, ontime successful completion rates in full-semester online courses have increased by 5%
Dutchess Community College blocks registration the Friday before the official start of classes.
Cut off online registration a little earlier than
F2F / on-campus courses
JCC limits registration for online courses to
 Last day of 1st wk for 15 wk courses
 2nd day of 1st wk for 8 wk courses
 Day before 1st day of class for 4 wk courses.
MCC limits registration for online courses – the SLN Angel Gateway is “closed” the day before
classes start and after that students can get in only with permission from the instructor.
GCC blocks registration as of first day of term, without written (email) instructor & dean
permission.
Offer late-start sections
GCC offers 12-week and 2nd-8-weeks courses, considered “late start” (except Summer).
Persistence rates for online 12-week courses (start in 5th week of semester) are comparable to
full-semester courses.
Persistence rates in 2nd-8-weeks courses are significantly below full-semester courses; around
50%. Reason: students default into late-start courses.
8-week course design not a factor: summer courses are also 8 weeks, and have HIGHER
persistence rates. It’s student demographics.
Set earlier registration deadlines for 15
week, 8 week and 4 week courses.
15 week – last day of add week.
8 week – 2nd day of 1st week.
4 week – day before classes start.
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Risk Factor - Inappropriate or Lack of Advising
Risk Factor - First Time DL Student
Require advisor signature before registration
can be completed
Require advisor-assigned passcode / PIN #
in order for student to register
Advisors must be trained & constantly
updated
Actual signature not practical with online registration systems
Pop-up window blocks registration in MIS w/o passcode
Passcode can be assigned no matter how advising occurs: in person, by advisor, by phone, or
online.
Only one passcode per student; requires Registrar / MIS coordination
Genesee CC advisors meet monthly. DL Advisor is regularly on the agenda; trains & updates all
advisors re: DL issues.
Special issues & training are required w. faculty advisors
MCC offers workshop for online advising
Online tutorials with advising terminology,
degree requirements, degree audit options,
transfer & articulation information, dates &
deadlines, etc.
Block registration without PIN from advisor.
DL Office participates in Advisor Training
every semester.
DL Office disseminates info to all campus
offices.
DL Office posts info for faculty (as advisors
and instructors)
DL Office has email contact for prospective
and current students.
MCC’s ADV 190, SUCCESS IN THE ONLINE CLASSROOM - What does it take to be a
successful online student? What technology skills do students need? What are the characteristics
of a successful online student? What are some of the common myths about online classes? How
many is too many online classes? This workshop will provide those answers and show you the
resources available to help students become successful in their online classes.
Requires student sign-off (liability waiver)
Requires constant updating
Requires Registrar / MIS coordination
JCC students cannot register without PIN number from Advisor who permits registration after
consultation.
DL Office participates in Advisor Training sessions every semester. Distributes info, answers
questions, gives demos, corrects misconceptions, requests info/forms be given to students.
DL Office prepares and disseminates schedules, instructions, FAQ sheets, success in online
course tips, etc. to all campus offices every semester.
DL Office hosts site on Blackboard for faculty and staff to access info to aid in assisting students.
DL Office fields calls and emails from prospective and current students.
Gives accurate information.
Sends instructions, tips, gives demos.
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DL Office calls online students.
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Retention office calls students
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Faculty call students
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DL Office conducts online mentor program.
MCC Angel Student Aides Pilot
DL Office calls all first time and high risk students, and most others – counsels them on when
to start, how to succeed, etc.
Hudson Valley CC Retention / Advisement staff call at-risk students, on faculty referral
Genesee CC faculty get “It’s week two, do you know where your students are?” email from
dean, with suggestions for student engagement, including phone calls; many do so.
Dutchess Community College has a student outreach program for students who have not
logged in in the first week of classes. DCC also calls students before last date to withdraw.
DL Office/online mentors contact all online students to see how they are doing, answer questions,
counsel/guide.
DL Office maintains mentor email where faculty can ask us to contact students who are not
succeeding.
Angel Student Aide – module put into courses; student aides help with technical problems
Online Student Handbook
•
•
•
•
•
Provide Overview of Distance Learning
Readiness quiz
Links to support services
Orientation to ANGEL, BlackBoard, WebCT or other CMS/LMS
http://dl.ecc.edu/
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•
•
•
•
•
•
Risk Factor – Age
Risk Factor - Developmental Needs
Risk Factor –Gender
Risk Factor - First-Time DL Student
Risk Factor - Previous Success with College Level Work
Risk Factor - Previous Success with College Level Work
Block registration (in MIS) when two, three
or ?? risk factors are present
Require completion of readiness assessment(s)
Require instructor permission
Require DL office permission
http://www.genesee.edu/depts/DL/orientation/
http://www.genesee.edu/depts/DL/Quiz/Online_Course_Choice.htm
Dutchess CC has implemented an online course policy as follows: “All continuing students enrolling
in online courses must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or higher. All full-time students
must have successfully completed 12 credits before enrolling in an online course.” This policy was
applied to full-time students only SP2010, will be applied to all students beginning SU2010.
NOTE: some technical, practical and legal cautions are appropriate here
Require advisor permission for ALL DL
course registration
A small % of “seats” in GCC online courses are reserved for students who are earning their degree
entirely online (about 7% of unduplicated headcount)

DL &/or Retention Office runs reports,
tracks high risk students, contacts as
needed
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DL Office runs daily enrollment tracking report categorizing students by risk factor: 1st time
online, poor previous grades online, number of online courses, etc.
DL Office evaluates and contacts student directly, to counsel.
MVCC Retention advisors call students on referral from faculty
HVCC Retention / Advisement staff call at-risk or underperforming students.
• Risk Factor - Developmental Needs
Advisors counsel against online courses
Community College advisors generally discourage remedial level students from taking online
courses until skills improve
However, colleges will usually not – and sometimes cannot - forbid a student to try (“student’s right
to fail” is common in open-admissions institutional culture)
MCC discourages “transitional studies” students from taking online courses.
GCC discourages “intermediate studies” students from taking online courses.
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Provide online developmental courses
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Problem: most common college placement tests (COMPASS / ASSET, ACCUPLACER etc.)
are not sufficiently adaptive; do not differentiate between LOW skills and RUSTY skills,
especially in Math
Erie CC offers online courses for developmental Math, Reading, & Writing. Mentors monitor
students’ activity in online developmental courses, providing encourage, assistance, and
prodding when necessary.
Genesee CC is experimenting with online developmental and “First Year Experience” courses
which are coded in MIS to require (1) instructor or (2) DL Advisor approval, who can informally
assess “low vs. rusty” skills, motivation, organizational skills, etc., especially for the working
adult student.
Risk Factor – Technical Factors
Online tutorials for LMS/CMS
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Online demo course
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Online tutorials for institutional portal
navigation, use of College’s email
On-site technical orientation(s), evening
and weekend hours, prior to and at
beginning of every term
Robust and 24/7 web helps for problems,
FAQs, etc.
Robust, complete and up-to-date help
sheet / checklist for login, browser, internet
problems
Automated browser checker
Student Orientation
All current CMS/LMS systems (Angel, Blackboard / WebCT, etc.) include tutorials.
Advising or DL office can require or recommend completion prior to course enrollment.
Faculty can require as first assignment, or for late-add students prior to enrollment
Many colleges or systems run “demo course” to try out CMS software, and/or compare
systems.
SUNY Learning network demo course:
https://support.sln.suny.edu/section/default.asp?id=NOTERM-SLN-DEMO-COURSE-001
Genesee runs on-site, comprehensive tech orientations the weekend before, and Thursday of, first
week, every semester & Summer. Six off-site campus centers also do new-student orientations
which include tech navigation, use of college email accounts, etc.
See http://www.genesee.edu/depts/DL/orientation/
Reset (or generate new) password http://www.genesee.edu/webapps/genesis/
Problem checklist in “Problem  Solution” table format.
http://gccnet.genesee.edu/depts/computerservices/webct/documentation/browsers.htm
http://www.genesee.edu/resources/browserhawk/
Most colleges or systems offer this.
Dutchess Community College is piloting an online student orientation that includes full
video and textual tutorials of common Angel applications, along with information on how
to get help and what online courses are about.
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 Risk Factor - First-Time DL Student
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DL Office runs reports, track High Risk
students, contact as needed.
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DL Office runs a daily enrollment tracking report that categorizes students by risk factor: 1st time
online, poor previous grades online, number of online courses, etc.
DL Office evaluates and contacts student directly to counsel.
Mentors call all students, especially 1st timers, to see how they are doing, answer questions,
guide.
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Systemic (everyone; institution-wide) – Policy
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Risk Factor - Advising
Risk Factor – First time DL student
Risk Factor – Learning Style
Strategy / Tool / Practice
Comment/Examples
Mandatory DL orientation
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Faculty Folders
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Educational Planning
Environment
IVC Online Student Resource
Center
Student aides provide pre-course
advisement, survival tips,
encouragement for early
engagement
Study addresses issues & outcomes of various online student orientation methods.
http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no1/wilson0308.htm
Require first time online students to take face-to-face or online orientation to online learning
Article reinforces the value of F2F orientation (w/o discussion about whether this is correlation or
causation), and other types of DL orientations. http://insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/08/retention
DCC is piloting a mandatory student orientation for each online class that includes both technical assistance and
information about online courses as a whole.
Open ANGEL course containing each instructor’s contact information, course syllabi, book and course
requirements, prior to registration.
Course info site with specific requirements for each course (field work, proctored exams, technical
requirements, etc.) http://www.genesee.edu/index.cfm/general/dspArticle/DL.courses/default.cfm
Required course in which students and their mentors assess their preparation for college; consider personal,
professional and educational goals; identify prior learning; analyze what students need to learn; select
courses; choose a concentration, make a curricular plan, and develop and articulate a degree program.
http://sloan-c.org/effective/details3.asp?LE_ID=51
Students are welcomed to online learning through a very carefully thought out set of online resources.
http://sloan-c.org/effective/details3.asp?LE_ID=14
 ANGEL Student Aides @ MCC
 GCC “STARS” (work-study students in Enrollment Mgmt office) make pre-course phone calls, and follow
up on faculty “early alert” reports of students in trouble as of 2nd week, 4th week, mid-semester. Students
are FERPA-trained.
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Pre-course readiness inventories & checklists
o https://www.hvcc.edu/dl/dlquiz.htm
o http://www.genesee.edu/_content/depts/dl/Quiz/Online_Course_Choice.htm
 Many variations of these inventories exist, since nearly all colleges use them in some format. A
challenge is whether students read them pre-advisement, BEFORE signing up for an online course,
when prompted to do so after the course begins (i.e. first assignment, etc.), or when they’re in trouble
(too late).
Self-test readiness quiz / inventory /  External DL-readiness services, such as READI: http://www.readi.info/index.cfm
checklists / links to help sites
o Useful but time-consuming, cumbersome
o Not enough validity, reliability, replicable research yet?
o Potentially usable data difficult to interpret, match with institutional MIS, make “stick”
o Difficult to make students do inventory pre-advising / pre-registration (when it’ll do the most
good)
 Student readiness site: http://www.delmar.edu/distancelearning/student_success/
o Series of modules dealing with online student success
o Study skills, goal setting, motivation, time management, computer skills, general information
o Categories based on prior research on student success and retention
 Several learning style inventories exist; can be useful for student self-knowledge as well as instructor
awareness of variations in a course:
o READI (see above) includes a basic Memletics-style inventory:http://www.readi.info/index.cfm
Learning Style Inventory
o Memletics shows a “spiderweb” of style preferences, which is useful in illustrating there are
dominant styles but most people are comfortable to varying degrees with different styles:
http://www.learning-styles-online.com/inventory/ and http://www.learning-styles-online.com/
 Some institutions develop their own: http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html
Pre-course “online course FAQ” sites:
Distance learning FAQ on website,  http://www.monroecc.edu/depts/distlearn/minicrs/10mythstext.htm
with active links to related sites, and  http://www.genesee.edu/index.cfm/general/dspArticle/DL.faq/default.cfm
email link
 Covers basic info on how online / DL courses work, with links to other resource pages, and links to
online@genesee.edu which is read by 3 or 4 people who answer inquiries promptly, almost always w/I
24 hours.
 Promotes student (and faculty) stress reduction
Provide HELP pages (as FAQ or
other format):
Provides proactive, early “answers” to problems, which heads off cumulative buildup.
Direct intervention near start of
Hudson Valley VCC Retention office contacts students who have been identified by Blackboard statistics as
course by Retention / Counseling / those who have not logged in after one week of class. Faculty can also submit names of students that have
Advising office
logged in but are not participating.
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Research
Article cites strategies and technologies used most frequently and found effective in retention initiatives:
online mentoring, tutoring, tech support, career counseling, etc. Survey indicated most effective
intervention strategies are (1) face to face counseling, (2) phone calls, (3) social networking, and (4)
emails. http://www.campustechnology.com/articles/62560/
Study indicates that administrators’ and faculty ideas about factors influencing student persistence in
online courses are closely aligned, while students’ factors present a different perspective.
http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no1/stanford-bowers0308.htm
Contacts:
Martha Dixon, Erie Community College (Buffalo NY)
Bob Knipe, Genesee Community College (Batavia NY)
Peggy VanKirk, Monroe Community College (Rochester NY)
dixon@ecc.edu
rgknipe@genesee.edu
pvankirk@monroecc.edu
Presentation Information Collected by these State University of New York (SUNY) Distance / Online Learning staff:
 Martha Dixon, Erie Community College (Buffalo NY)
 Susan Gallagher, Hudson Valley Community College (Troy, NY)
 Bob Knipe, Genesee Community College (Batavia NY)
 Chrisie Mitchell, Dutchess Community College (Poughkeepsie NY)
 Peggy Van Kirk, Monroe Community College (Rochester NY)
With additional assistance from:
 Jeff Getchell, Del Mar College (Corpus Christi, TX)
 Makeever Clarke, Jefferson Community College (Watertown NY)
 Mindy Epstein-Hinshaw, Onondaga Community College (Syracuse NY)
 Pamela Youngs-Maher, SUNY Upstate Medical University (Syracuse NY)
 Terry Keys, Monroe Community College
Other contributors as cited - used with permission.
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Selected References:
 Altucher, Kris & Eric Howd (Tomkins-Cortland CC): Retention and Integration of Community College Students in Distance Learning.
Downloadable .pdf file at http://www.iccd.cornell.edu/iccd/resources/publications/newsletters/upload/TC3-Final-Report1.pdf

Bartkovich, Jeff & Marie Fetzner: Retention Research: Asking Students Why They Dropped Out. Monroe Community College, 2006.
Downloadable .pdf file at:

Kemper K. (1990). Faculty culture in the community college: Facilitating or hindering learning. Review of Higher Education, 13, 215-235.

Verduin, J. R., & Clark, T. A. (1991). Distance education: The foundations of effective practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
sloan-c eff
practices.pdf
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Sloan-C synthesis of Effective Practices:
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Here are some additional persistence / retention-related links, from the SUNY DOODLE discussion list:
Why should we care: http://booboo.webct.com/2002/papers/schreck.pdf
Retention Defined: http://fp.yccc.edu/online_courses/support_resources/snippets/retention.pdf
Different Definitions of Retention:
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:d1ykNY4fnJEJ:www.decadeconsulting.com/decade/papers/StudentRetention.pdf+retention+and+o
nline+courses&hl=en
Early Alert and Gap: http://www.ccbcmd.edu/distance/early_alert_retention.html
Comparing statistics from different institutions: http://chronicle.com/free/v46/i23/23a00101.htm
Study: http://www.sloan-c.org/conference/proceedings/2002/ppt/1142.ppt
Early Intervention Study:
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:TDdPzbKXK7EJ:www.cvc4.org/studentservices/post/Student%2520Services%2520Conf-retention.ppt+retention+and+online+courses&hl=en
Designing for Retention: http://www.uwex.edu/disted/desien/2000/0005/focus.htm
Success and Retention Study: http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/DL/docs/reports/StdtSuccStudyRev2.1-BCC.doc
Retention by Discipline: http://www.calhoun.edu/distancelearning/OLE/comparativedata.htm
Retention Questions: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/mlx/slip.php?item=1338
Pre-entry variables: http://www.leaonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15389286ajde1804_2?cookieSet=1
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PPT_MCC_ITC_2006
_Why_Students_Drop
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