Online Student Retention: Assessing Why Students Stay and Why They Leave

1. Online Student Retention:  Assessing Why Students Stay and Why They Leave Mark L. Parker, Associate Professor/Academic Director, UMUC mparker@umuc.edu

2. Agenda • Online Postsecondary Teaching & Learning in the U.S. • Student Success & Retention • Overview of UMUC: online programs, students, & retention issues • Examples of success & retention initiatives • Template for evaluating your institution’s retention environment

3. But first. . . INTRODUCTIONS Please chat in the letter of the statement below that best reflects your institution's current situation regarding a formal online student retention process. A.  We have nothing formal in place.  We are just starting the discussion. B.  We have started to develop a plan (e.g., we have formed a committee; we have surveyed faculty and/or students). C.We’ve developed a plan but haven’t yet implemented any retention/success initiatives. D. We’ve developed a plan and have retention/success initiatives underway. E. Other (give us a brief description of where you are)

4. Online Postsecondary Education According to Sloan-ALN, in 2010: • 4.6 million students in the U.S. took at least one online postsecondary course (up 17% from the previous year); • > 20% of all U.S. higher ed students took at least one online course. Online has grown at 19.7% annually (on average) over the last 5 years (by contrast, overall growth was 1.6 %),

5. Who are They? • A very diverse group • Somewhat more likely to be: • Older, P/T students, at least P/T workers • “First-in-Family” college students • Speakers of ESL/EFL • Coming to you with clearer, more pragmatic goals • Pursuing a second credential (or none at all)

6. Why are they choosing online? In almost all cases, convenience • Working during the day • Commuting • Family obligations • Proximity to a higher education institution

7. Student Success & Retention Now a principal issue in the academy nationwide • Financial aid implications (the new Higher Education Act) • Affordability • Social implications (e.g. “the Achievement Gap”)

8. Student Success & Retention The Current Approach • “Student” = Young (18-22 y.o.), resident, F/T, largely face-to-face courses • “Success” = Course, Term & Degree Completion Rates • “Retention” = Time-to-Degree; returning students; first-to-second year reenrollment rates (undergrad); etc.

9. Student Success & Retention The Current Approach • Somewhat appropriate for institutions with such students • Far less appropriate for institutions with significant numbers of “non-traditional” students taking online or hybrid/blended courses

10. An Example: UMUC University of Maryland University College • Public institution (part of a state university system) • Mission: offer higher educational opportunities to adult students in Maryland, the U.S., and abroad • Extensive use of online course, program, and services delivery: • In 2011: of 316,348 worldwide enrollments 234,243 were online (headcount = 96,342)

11. UMUC’s Online Students No surprises here. . . • Median Age = 32 • 58% are women • 44% minorities (35% African-American) • 92% work at least P/T • At least 15% are SESL/SEFL • Almost 50% of undergrads are “First-in-Family”

12. Why do they stay? • Because they tend to be: • Highly motivated • Pursuing a clear goal • Good at time and task management • And because we provide them with a full package of online support services: • Technology • Library • Student services

13. Support Services • Digital Library Services include: • > 230 journal databases (most full-text) • 24/7 access to librarians • Training in the use of digital library resources • Technology Services include: • 24/7 Helpdesk (chat, phone, e-mail) • Training/orientation in use of LMS and other technologies • Student Services include: • Student Portal (application, registration, advising, FA) • Allied services (e.g. online Effective Writing Center)

14. Why do they leave? In a word, BARRIERS • Personal (jobs, health, families) • Financial (availability of tuition remission & FA) • Academic (prior education, technology fluency) The institution can help students overcome some (but by no means all) of these barriers

15. Some examples from UMUC and other institutions First, let’s define our terms: Retention = Persistence + Success Persistence: The continuation by a student in a course for which she is registered and in which she is maintaining satisfactory academic progress. Success: The completion of a course and subsequent receipt of a passing or satisfactory grade (enabling continuation in future academic sessions) (You’ll notice that the above definitions address courses, but the same framework can be applied to programs)

16. Some examples from UMUC and other institutions For purposes of gathering data and analyzing retention rates: Persistence is usually signified by a grade other than “W” or its equivalent. Success is usually signified by a grade equal to or surpassing the institution’s minimum level of satisfactory academic progress (a grade other than “F” or “Unsat. [U]” at the undergraduate level) Therefore attrition, which is the opposite of retention, is often calculated as “W + F”

17. Some examples from UMUC UMUC’s Formal Retention Initiative • Begun in 2001 • Managed by a Steering Committee consisting of the Provost (chair) and representatives of: • The Schools • Student Affairs/Services • Library • Financial Aid Office • Budget Office • Institutional Research

18. Some examples from UMUC The Process at UMUC • Gather and analyze data • Where attrition is high, identify potential barriers to persistence & success • Develop and carry out interventions to help students overcome barriers • Evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions

19. Some examples from UMUC UMUC Example 1 • In 2003 we discovered that attrition of online students who enrolled in 1st week of class was 13% higher than that of students who enrolled at least 1 week prior to start of class. • Faculty confirmed that late registrants were unprepared (e.g. textbooks, technology) • We eliminated the option to register during 1st week (except for drop/add)

20. Some Examples from UMUC Example 2 • In 2003 we found that the attrition rate of ‘new’ online students was significantly higher than that of ‘returning’ online students. • We also found the number of contacts with the technology help desk by new students was significantly higher than those of returning students. • Faculty confirmed that new students were reporting problems using the LMS. • We implemented a mandatory orientation session for new online students.

21. Examples from other institutions A 2-year Institution • Of the 10 most common 100-level “general ed” courses, PSY 100’s attrition rate was 58% (average of other courses was 24%) • Analysis revealed that the course was designed for majors and had a heavy quantitative research component • The department created a new 100-level course more suitable for non-majors

22. Examples from other institutions A 4-year Public Institution (This one is a cautionary tale. . .) • Launched an initiative to re-enroll “drop-outs” (students who hadn’t registered for class for more than the allowed 3-semester “stop-out” period) • Expensive telephone/e-mail/snail-mail blitz to drop-outs • Re-enrollment rate for 4- to 6-semester drop-outs was 51% (good ROI) • Re-enrollment rate for > 6-semester drop-outs was 9% (poor ROI) • If they’re out too long, not worth going after them.

23. Examples from other institutions A 4-year Private Institution (Another cautionary tale. . .) • Retention rates across master’s programs averaged 63%, but MBA was almost 96%! • MBA was a cohort-based, lock-step accelerated program with a “boot camp” foundational course • Institution attempted to modify other master’s programs to resemble MBA; for a variety of reasons, it didn’t work • Lesson learned? There are no silver bullets.

24. Bringing it all together • Let’s look at a possible framework for you to use at your institution. • First principles: • The primacy of mission • The role that online teaching & learning play in helping to fulfill that mission • The extent to which the institution can reasonably help students to overcome barriers to persistence & success • The extent to which all organizations within the institution participate in the retention initiative

25. The Template Document • It is one of many possible guides • Its purpose is to get you and your colleagues talking about key issues related to retention at your institution • It is not carved in stone; modify it to suit your institution, its mission, and its involvement in online teaching & learning • If used, it should be updated periodically to reflect changes in the institution, the technology, etc.

26. The Framework • Stage I: The Background • Mission • Online teaching & learning • Data • Stage II: The Process • Determine student characteristics • Identify barriers • Develop & pilot initiatives • Measure results and modify

27. Best Practices . . . or, stuff we learned (usually the hard way) at UMUC • Ensure that any retention initiatives are institution-wide efforts (i.e. involve all actual or potential stakeholders) • Pilot the initiatives first • Use empirical data for decision-making • To the extent possible, aim for scalability • Use a student-centered approach

28. A Note about Benchmarking • It’s tempting to want to conduct external benchmarking for retention/success • If you choose to do so, think carefully about • whether or not you do in fact have any peer institutions with regard to online teaching & learning; • whether or not you can obtain reliable retention data from your peer institutions; and • whether or not such data will really tell you anything useful about your institution.

29. Wrap Up • Online teaching & learning is here to stay. • It allows you to serve not only more students but different types of students. • Those students have different needs when it comes to ensuring persistence and success. • There are no one-size-fits-all solutions; you’ll have to innovate and experiment based on what you learn from your data. • Despite some of the challenges, this is very much worth doing!

30. Thank you very much, and I would love to hear your questions/comments! If you have questions or comments after today: mparker@umuc.edu