Online Student Retention:
What Does it Take for Students to Go the Distance?
Andrea Henne
June 2013
Online Student Retention: What Does it Take
for Students to Go the Distance?
Andrea Henne, EdD
Dean, Online and Distributed Learning
District Instructional Services and Planning
San Diego Community College District
FTES Growth
5000
4676
4500
4087
4000
3549
3500
3000
2500
2270
2000
1500
1354
1000
692
652
500
365
0
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-09
Online
Enrollments
Duplicated
Headcount
20000
18,256
17,397
18,189
Spring 2008
Fall 2008
Spring 2009
18000
15,781
16000
13,338
14000
11,932
11,295
Spring 2006
Fall 2006
12000
10000
8000
7,038
6000
4000
2000
0
Fall 2005
Spring 2007
Fall 2007
Facts at a Glance - CCC’s
Distance Education (DE) Retention and Success Rates
Source: CCC DataMart http://www.cccco.edu
Statewide Snapshot: Spring 2009
DE = 11% of all credit enrollments = 423,433 DE enrollments –
duplicated headcounts
Retention
DE = 78.67%
(Numerator: Number of enrollments with A,B,C,D,F,CR,NC,I*,P,NP
Non-DE = 84.72%
6.05% difference
Denominator: Number of enrollments with A,B,C,D,F,CR,NC,W,I*,P,NP,DR)
Success Rate
DE = 58.01%
(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)
Non-DE = 68.06
10.05% difference
Retention Rates for San Diego City College
100.00
90.00
80.00
70.00
DE Enrollments
Spring 2005 = 1,765
Spring 2009 = 6,771
60.00
50.00
40.00
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
S 2005
F 2005
S 2006
F 2006
S 2007
F 2007
S 2008
F2008
S2009
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
Semester
Retention Rates for San Diego Mesa College
100.00
90.00
80.00
70.00
DE Enrollments
Spring 2005 = 2,758
Spring 2009 = 7,132
60.00
50.00
40.00
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
S 2005
F 2005
S 2006
F 2006
S 2007
F 2007
S 2008
F2008
S2009
Distance Education Courses
73.42
70.90
75.79
76.79
77.02
74.41
78.41
76.46
81.41
Non-Distance Education Courses
81.29
81.86
81.73
81.80
81.12
80.92
82.29
83.06
84.34
Semester
Retention Rates for San Diego Miramar College
100.00
90.00
80.00
70.00
DE Enrollments
Spring 2005 = 3,056
Spring 2009 = 5,507
60.00
50.00
40.00
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
S 2005
F 2005
S 2006
F 2006
S 2007
F 2007
S 2008
F2008
S2009
Distance Education Courses
77.78
74.32
77.96
76.38
75.99
75.40
77.60
78.32
81.61
Non-Distance Education Courses
85.71
85.21
85.15
85.06
85.52
84.30
86.37
87.25
87.73
Semester
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?
Top Reasons for Dropping DE Course?
Preliminary Results from California Community Colleges
Distance Education Retention (W and DR in Fall 2008)
Survey – February 2009
3,227 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?
What Does it Take to Retain Online Students?
Student Services
Student Preparation
Online Students
Faculty Training
and Support
Course Design
and
Continuous
Improvement
What Does it Take to Retain Online Students?
Student Services
Student Preparation
Online Students
Faculty Training
and Support
Course Design
and
Continuous
Improvement
Essential Student Support Services
Admissions
Counseling/Advising
Financial Aid
Placement
Tutoring
Library
Essential Student Support Services
Tuesday, October 6 & Thursday, October 8 @ 1-2:30 EDT
(2-part workshop)
http://www.innovativeeducators.org/retention_p/722.htm
A case study from Rio Salado Community College will present best
practices for promoting retention in an online learning
environment. 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.
What Does it Take to Retain Online Students?
Student Services
Student Preparation
Online Students
Faculty Training
and Support
Course Design
and
Continuous
Improvement
Student 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
are More Likely to Persist
Online Learning Readiness Assessment
http://www.sdccdonline.net/assess.htm
Course Information Pages
http://www.sdccdonline.net/infoPages.cfm
Tutorials and Student Orientation
http://www.sdccdonline.net/students/training
Consistent Look and Feel
Sample Course @
http://online.sdccd.edu
Login = newstudent/newstudent
What Does it Take to Retain Online Students?
Student Services
Student Preparation
Online Students
Faculty Training
and Support
Course Design
and
Continuous
Improvement
Faculty 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 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, Modeling
Breakfast of Champions
Online Teaching Excellence
Symposium
Pedagogy of Online Retention





Motivation
Engagement
Communication
Sense of Achievement and Progress
Support
Communication
Excerpted from Chickering and Gamson
 Encourage contact between
students 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).
Engagement





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 & Progress
 Give prompt, personalized feedback.
 Use rubrics to streamline grading.
 Recognize accomplishments.
Motivation





Relevant
Varied
Interesting
Challenging
Encouraging
What Does it Take to Retain Online Students?
Student Services
Student Preparation
Online Students
Faculty Training
and Support
Course Design
and
Continuous
Improvement
Framework for Course
Development /Review/Revision
http://www.sdccdonline.net/faculty/resources
 Online Teaching Proficiency Checklist
 Recommended Components of
a Learning Module
 Checklist of Course Readiness
 Syllabus Quality Checklist
Positive
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.
Positive
Feedback from Online Students
 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.
Positive
Feedback from Online Students
 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.)
Positive
Feedback from Online Students
 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 login, giving the students ample time to look
ahead and present questions before she
was unavailable, i.e. weekends or gone
for conferences.
Positive
Feedback from Online Students
 The Instructor was amazing! The
discussion boards really helped to put
things into perspective.
Student Name
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:
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
100.00
90.00
80.00
70.00
DE Enrollments
Spring 2005 = 1,765
Spring 2009 = 6,771
60.00
50.00
40.00
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
S 2005
F 2005
S 2006
F 2006
S 2007
F 2007
S 2008
F2008
S2009
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
Semester
6.87%
Difference
Retention Rates for San Diego Mesa College
100.00
90.00
80.00
70.00
DE Enrollments
Spring 2005 = 2,758
Spring 2009 = 7,132
60.00
50.00
40.00
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
S 2005
F 2005
S 2006
F 2006
S 2007
F 2007
S 2008
F2008
S2009
Distance Education Courses
73.42
70.90
75.79
76.79
77.02
74.41
78.41
76.46
81.41
Non-Distance Education Courses
81.29
81.86
81.73
81.80
81.12
80.92
82.29
83.06
84.34
Semester
2.93%
Difference
Retention Rates for San Diego Miramar College
100.00
90.00
80.00
70.00
DE Enrollments
Spring 2005 = 3,056
Spring 2009 = 5,507
60.00
50.00
40.00
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
S 2005
F 2005
S 2006
F 2006
S 2007
F 2007
S 2008
F2008
S2009
Distance Education Courses
77.78
74.32
77.96
76.38
75.99
75.40
77.60
78.32
81.61
Non-Distance Education Courses
85.71
85.21
85.15
85.06
85.52
84.30
86.37
87.25
87.73
Semester
6.12%
Difference
Following Up
http://www.sdccdonline.net
Andrea Henne
ahenne@sdccd.edu
619-388-6750
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/andreahenne
Evaluation Survey Link
Help us improve our seminars by filing
out a short online evaluation survey at:
http://tinyurl.com/ONEeval-09Fa-Retain
Thanks for Attending
For upcoming desktop seminars and links to
recently archived seminars, check the @ONE
Web site at:
http://onefortraining.org/seminars/