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3/10/04 A City College evaluation of online courses from fall 2000 to fall 2001 states that most online classes have lower success rates than regular classes. In Fall 2000, for example, the online English 110 course had only a 26 percent success rate when all those who dropped with a grade of "W" were included. The same course offered on campus had a 70 percent success rate. In Fall of 2001, the success rate for online courses was 53 percent compared to 69 percent for the overall college and 67 percent for peer classes. Online classes also have higher drop rates than on-campus classes. Michael Gallegos, dean of educational programs, said overall the pass rates are about the same, but online drop rates are a different story.

ABSTRACT This study has two primary objectives. First, we want to know how students who enroll in online classes differ from their peers in traditional lecture classes. Our second objective involves both exploring what factors influence performance among online students, as well as whether those factors differ for online and lecture students. Our comparisons are of two large sections of a course in computer programming for which almost the only difference was that one section consisted of on-campus lectures, and the other section was online. We find that online students do differ from lecture students in a number of important characteristics. However, when we examine class performance and course completion, we find that the factors which influence performance seem to have a stronger impact on lecture students, but we cannot reject the hypothesis that factor coefficients are the same for the two groups.

The flexibility, ease and accessibility of online distance learning courses can be attractive selling points to students faced with hectic schedules. The fact that those classes require the same amount of work as traditional classes, though, is not. Online distance education courses at the University of Alaska are in high demand each semester, but they come with a high drop rate as well. Although the courses have a high attrition rate, Shane Southwick, operations manager for UAA's distance education service, said it is still better than the national average.

Community colleges are increasingly finding that many of the issues they deal with on a day-to-day basis - retention and remedial education, to name two - are just as present among the students they don't see as the ones who show up for class on campus. That's because distance learners tend to drop out more readily than students who have regular, face-to-face contact with their instructors. And that fact, seen in retention statistics comparing students in traditional and online courses, motivated the City Colleges of Chicago to start at the beginning: at orientation. The system's Center for Distance Learning, which offers over 90 courses and has existed in some form for more than 50 years, started a project on student retention several years ago.

What is Plagiarism and Why is it Important? In college courses, we are continually engaged with other people's ideas: we read them in texts, hear them in lecture, discuss them in class, and incorporate them into our own writing. As a result, it is very important that we give credit where it is due. Plagiarism is using others' ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information.

Teachers tend to approach each class with a collection of ideas and techniques that, when coordinated, become a teaching style. There are a number of models that characterize different teaching styles. This web site uses the four teaching clusters identified by Tony Grasha. You can link to this teaching styles information, you can take an on-line inventory at this site.

If you are a staff member at the College, you may request your own web space on the College's World Wide Web server. If you are a faculty member, club advisor, office manager, or president of various groups on campus, your class, office, or group (as appropriate) may also have its own web space. Fill out the form below and submit it to start the process. Tech Services will create space for each web area and give you access to that area. If you have questions, please e-mail to weblinks@siskiyous.edu. For further information, you can read our page on Getting Started on the College of the Siskiyous Web.

Today's Outline - Are you interested in teaching online or adding an online component to your class? In this 2 ½ hour workshop you'll see a demonstration of the tools available in our current Course Management System - Etudes. We will discuss the benefits of adding web enhancement to your current classroom courses along with best practices for online instruction. You will gain a better understanding of how to use this valuable tool in your classroom regardless of subject matter. This workshop is designed for those who have little or no experience with Course Management Systems or knowledge of web enhancement strategies. Limited to 25 participants.

The "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education," originally published in the AAHE Bulletin (Chickering & Gamson, 1987), are a popular framework for evaluating teaching in traditional, face-to-face courses. The principles are based on 50 years of higher education research (Chickering & Reisser, 1993). A faculty inventory (Johnson Foundation, "Faculty," 1989) and an institutional inventory (Johnson Foundation, "Institutional," 1989) based on these principles have helped faculty members and higher-education institutions examine and improve their teaching practices.