COS - Online Instruction

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.

Stanford University's Entrepreneurship Corner

Profile of Chandralekha Singh's interactive teaching style.

There is no shortage of associate degree programs online, but private four-year colleges don't tend to run them. Looking for a job? See all new postings Browse all job listings: Faculty: 3,150 Administrative: 1,453 Executive: 201 FEATURED EMPLOYERS Post a job Related stories * When IM Is the Best Way to Stay on Top, Aug. 29 * Distance Ed Continues Rapid Growth at Community Colleges, April 7 * Making Online Learning Mandatory, April 17, 2007 * Surge in Distance Ed at Community Colleges, April 16, 2007 * Scrutiny for Transfer Program, Feb. 21, 2007 E-mail this page E-mail Print this page Print This fall, Tiffin University is trying a new model for an online two-year degree program. The institution, which was founded in 1888, is launching an associate of arts degree in general studies as part of what it calls Ivy Bridge College, an online-only program that targets traditional-aged students who intend to transfer into four-year institutions once they're done. The program is unusual for being developed at a four-year private college, and also because of who it intends to enroll and what kind of degree the students will be earning.

Early Attrition among First Time eLearners: A Review of Factors that Contribute to Drop-out, Withdrawal and Non-completion Rates of Adult Learners undertaking eLearning Programmes

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.

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.