Online Course Retention

 

What will you deliver in your course to keep your students interested?

 

Online course instruction has entered the world of education like a freight train. 

  

Did you know at CPCC, the number of students who elect to study online continues to increase? In the period from Fall 2010 to Fall 2013, CPCC has recorded an increase of 8% in online student enrollment (taking all online courses) compared to a 6% decrease in students taking all face-to-face courses.*

 

Online student retention rates are another story altogether:

 

In the same time period, retention (fall to fall) is between 35% - 38%  for students only taking online courses compared to over 50% (fall to fall) for students taking all face-to-face courses.*

 

*Note: these numbers are only looking at students who take all their classes either face-to-face or all online, and does not take into consideration students who are taking both face-to-face AND online classes.

 

It's not a surprise so many professional development workshops have been created to support faculty in keeping up with this popular system of delivering education. Technology is becoming a much more convenient way for students to take their courses and, as such, online numbers are increasing.  There is a demand and faculty are encouraged to keep up with it.

 

 

RESEARCH SAYS:

 

 

 

US News & World Report has reported increasing numbers in online enrollment for over a decade. Although overall community college enrollment is slowly declining, online enrollment still shows growth. Read this article to learn how community colleges are expanding online: US News community colleges expands online.

 

Research shows that in an online course, the lack of engagement between professors and students, program quality, denied financial aid, faculty inexperience with online pedagogy and employer acceptance are some of the factors impacting dropout rates of students.

 

Read these Faculty Focus articles for suggestions on how instructors can make great differences in quality of course delivery and improve student retention:

 

Faculty Focus: Online Student Retention Requires Collaborative Approach

 

and

 

Faculty Focus: Keeping Students Engaged in the Online Classroom