Enrollment Decisions and Persistence on Online Learners in NACTEL and EPCE: An Exploratory Study

1. Enrollment Decisions and Persistence on Online Learners in NACTEL and EPCE: An Exploratory Study SLOAN C International Conference on Online Learning November 9, 2007

2. The Agenda Context of the study Industries Schools Programs Purpose of the study Design Findings & Recommendations Questions for Further Study Open discussion

3. The Industries: Electric Power EPCE Since 2001 The Energy Providers Coalition for Education 28 members include Companies (investor owned, municipals, and cooperatives) Associations Contractors IBEW locals Representing 67% of the electric power industry 67% of the nuclear power industry www.epceonline.org

4. The Industries: Telecommunications NACTEL Since 1999 The National Coalition for Telecommunications Education & Learning Employer and labor members include AT&T CWA IBEW Qwest Communications Verizon Frontier / Citizens Communications www.nactel.org

5. The Schools Bismarck State College Community College, part of North Dakota University System EPCE program is housed in the National Center for Energy Excellence Named National Power Plant Technology and Education Center by the Department of Energy Pace University Private not-for-profit, located in the metropolitan New York area NACTEL housed in the Seidenberg School for Computer Science and Information Systems

6. The Programs Both programs consist of: Associate’s degree Series of embedded certificates Instructor-led asynchronous learning Content aimed at technical job titles Curriculum co-developed by schools and industry subject matter experts Both now feature bachelor’s degrees, but this study only looked at associate degree students.

7. The Study Persistence toward Degree What are the enrollment patterns and student decisions that affect persistence and degree completion in NACTEL and EPCE?

8. A Complex Question Students View of programs Goals / Purpose Personal and work factors that support continuation or leaving Barriers Industries View of and support for programs Industry goals Messages given to employees National industry employment trends Schools Data collection & quality management Retention strategies

9. Six Data Sources Focused interviews – students Focused interviews – industry reps Online survey – all students ever enrolled Current students Graduates Students “taking a break” Students left permanently Follow up interviews School data Enrollment data Focused interview Bureau of Labor Statistics

10. Limitations Data collected by academic year Data from the origin of each program through 2005 Associate’s degree students only Not a tracking study of individuals; aggregate data to reflect “cohort” enrollments (meaning students entering in a given year)

11. BSC Cohort Summary

12. Pace Cohort Summary

13. Average Time to Graduation Bismarck State College: 2.5 years Pace University: 3 years Some students from the first year of each program still taking courses (in 2007). Advising includes transfer credit, course challenge and other Prior Learning Assessment options used by adult students.

14. “I was too young when I was young! I didn’t understand the value [of a college education] and went straight to work after high school. I’m a single mom and have had a burning desire to go to college. 27 years after graduating from high school, I started with NACTEL. Then my mom had a stroke. I’ve been plugging away for 5 years, but now I’m only 3 courses away from completing my associate’s degree. Now I want a bachelor’s degree!” Quote from Pace University current student

15. Findings: About Students Students saw the flexibility of online learning as the most important aspect of NACTEL and EPCE programs. Industry sponsorship was important & added credibility / value. Degrees, particularly bachelor’s degrees, were extremely important (often a lifetime dream). Degree completion often became the goal after entry into the program. Common barriers to completion included Complicated work & family demands, Time management, Problems with employer-sponsored tuition assistance. Despite barriers, students persisted (& continue to persist)

16. “I’m interested in Electrical Energy Management & when they get ready to launch that 4-year degree program I’m interested in seeing that curriculum . . . I’ve really enjoyed my classes at BSC. It’s more hands-on than it was at [named another school].” Quote from BSC student taking a break

17. Recommendations: About Students Assume that adults want to and eventually will complete the degree Build education ladders to support credentials “along the way” Encourage credit-bearing course- work and PLA options as transportable credentials Recognize & support the access afforded by online learning

18. “We can always train someone to do a job. There is a wide spectrum of jobs within a specialty, but it helps to have someone with theoretical knowledge going in, which they get from this degree.” Quote from telecom industry rep

19. Findings: About the Industries Industries differed in the importance of degrees Sometimes courses & skill sets were more important than degrees Joint curriculum development was important to both industries Linking technical curriculum to job titles was important to both industries

20. Findings: About Tuition Assistance In NACTEL and EPCE, tuition assistance is a significant factor in student persistence, both supporting students to persist and causing students to leave a program permanently.

21. “I don’t care about our employees completing a degree. I care about their taking 12 courses that are technically related . . . I care about technical expertise. Whatever the number of courses that it takes to get to the technical level the company needs – that’s what I want employees to do. If they choose to go on from there and finish, that’s great.” Quote from power industry rep

22. Recommendations: Industries Align education ladders with job ladders / job families Select academic partner carefully; look for ability to work collaboratively with industry Position tuition assistance strategically; manage it well.

23. Findings: About “Success” “Success” has several definitions. For many students, success is a degree. For other students, success is tied to reasons for entering a program (i.e. certificate, “brush up on skills,” prepare or qualify for a new job). For industries, success can be tied to non-degree factors.

24. Findings: About the Schools Seven “Best Practices” include: Orientation and Preparation “Orientation to Online Learning” course before the content courses begin. Student communication and support Dedicated as “contact” person serves as advocate, troubleshooter, advisor Tuition assistance support – help troubleshoot problems with employer tuition assistance

25. Seven School “Best Practices” Responsive faculty; smaller classes Data collection; data tracking Frequent student surveys Monitoring enrollment patterns for snags and trouble areas “Rollover” category A formal system to allow a student to leave one semester and return later without penalty Placement assistance – an important student service

26. Industry Employment Trends Affecting Persistence From Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) In 2001, 1,302,100 people were employed in the telecom industry; in 2006, the number was 992,000 – a drop of 23.8% In 2001, 276,700 people were employed in electric power generation; in 2006 the number was 238,600 – a drop of 13.7%.

27. For Further Study This was an exploratory study. How do students in these customized, industry specific, technical programs compare to more general community college working adult students? Early indicators are that bachelor’s students are stronger – is this true and why? More understanding of industry – education interrelationship, impact and implications

28. About CAEL The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning Since 1974 Increased access to learning for working adults Membership organization with 450 colleges and organizations Headquartered in Chicago with 4 regional offices

29. For more information This study can be downloaded from: http://www.cael.org/pdf/SloanReport.pdf From Bismarck State College: - Dave Clark -david.clark@bsc.nodak.edu - Alicia Berger - alicia.berger@bsc.nodak.edu From Pace University: - David Sachs - dsachs@pace.edu - Nancy Hale - nhale@pace.edu From CAEL: - Susan Kannel – skannel@cael.org