{"id":8034,"date":"2015-08-28T14:05:39","date_gmt":"2015-08-28T19:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/?p=8034"},"modified":"2019-12-02T07:47:43","modified_gmt":"2019-12-02T13:47:43","slug":"improve-student-retention-in-online-courses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/improve-student-retention-in-online-courses\/","title":{"rendered":"Improve Student Retention in Online Courses"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\"empty<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

Studies show that students withdraw from online courses at a higher rate than in face-to-face courses. There are many reasons for students withdrawing from an online course. Some reasons are beyond the instructor\u2019s control. Educators do not like to see students withdraw from courses for the wrong reasons. There are some things instructors can do to improve retention and reduce attrition in online courses. <\/p>\n

In a recent blog post, Dr. Peter van Leusen, Instructional Designer for EdPlus at Arizona State University, provided a list of proven strategies that can be implemented on a course level and are based on good principles for teaching (Chickering & Gamson, 1987), adult-learning strategies, and technology solutions. Those strategies are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Be present<\/strong> \u2013 Instructor presence is key. Make early contact at the start of the class and stay active throughout the course.<\/li>\n
  2. Encourage active learning<\/strong> \u2013 Incorporate activities that require students to move from passive consumers to active users of information. <\/li>\n
  3. Set clear expectations<\/strong> \u2013 Expectations help students gauge requirements for the course and individual assignments.<\/li>\n
  4. Provide constructive, meaningful and timely feedback<\/strong> \u2013 Feedback gives students an indication about their performance. Effective feedback is frequent, prompt, specific, and written in a supportive tone.<\/li>\n
  5. Make course content relevant<\/strong> \u2013 Invite guest speakers to provide career specific examples or include \u201creal world\u201d examples to illustrate course content. Design assignments to be flexible and allow students to pursue interests.<\/li>\n
  6. Include collaboration and peer-to-peer communication<\/strong> \u2013 A common criticism of online courses is the lack of interaction with peers. Offer opportunities for students to share perspectives, experiences, and learning.<\/li>\n
  7. Guide students to be autonomous<\/strong> \u2013 Self-directed learning describes students who take initiative and responsibility for their own learning. This is critical in an online class.<\/li>\n
  8. Collect formative feedback on lesson effectiveness and student comprehension<\/strong> \u2013 The decision to review a certain concept or continue often depends on whether students \u201cget it\u201d or not.<\/li>\n
  9. Identify and reach out to struggling students <\/strong>\u2013 Utilize an early alert system and reach out to students when necessary to offer support and share available resources to help students get back on track.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If this has piqued your interest, you can read more in Dr. Leusen\u2019s \"9 Proven Ways for Instructors to Address Online Student Retention<\/a>\" blog post.<\/p>\n

    Image credit: Image<\/a> by geralt from Pixabay<\/a><\/small> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Studies show that students withdraw from online courses at a higher rate than in face-to-face courses. There are many reasons for students withdrawing from an online course. Some reasons are beyond the instructor\u2019s control. Educators do not like to see students withdraw from courses for the wrong reasons. There are some things instructors can do ...continue reading \"Improve Student Retention in Online Courses\"<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[120,232,301],"class_list":{"0":"post-8034","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-online","7":"tag-elearning","8":"tag-online-learning","9":"tag-student-retention","10":"h-entry","11":"hentry","12":"h-as-article"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p82MQk-25A","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9528,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/what-to-expect-when-youre-expecting-to-teach-online\/","url_meta":{"origin":8034,"position":0},"title":"What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Teach Online","author":"Janice Florent","date":"March 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Janice Florent Being prepared is a must for teaching online. In addition to using better practices for online course design you should be thinking about how to deliver your online course for maximum success. In an IDDblog blog post, Alex Joppie listed a few tips for keeping your online\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pedagogical Tidbits"","block_context":{"text":"Pedagogical Tidbits","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/teaching\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"globe with a computer mouse and teaching online text","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.depts.ttu.edu\/tlpdc\/Teach_Program\/Images\/TeachingOnline_Logo.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13673,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/what-to-expect-when-youre-expecting-to-teach-online-redux\/","url_meta":{"origin":8034,"position":1},"title":"What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Teach Online Redux","author":"Janice Florent","date":"May 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Being prepared is a must for teaching online. In addition to using better practices for online teaching you should be thinking about how to deliver your online course for maximum success while avoiding the 7 deadly sins of online course design. In an IDDblog blog post, Alex Joppie listed a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "CAT & Mouse: E-Learning"","block_context":{"text":"CAT & Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"globe with oversized computer mouse draped over it","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/mouse-306274_640.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9808,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/ensuring-student-success-in-online-courses\/","url_meta":{"origin":8034,"position":2},"title":"Ensuring Student Success in Online Courses","author":"Janice Florent","date":"June 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Janice Florent Many students enroll in online classes because of the convenience and flexibility. Some students mistakenly believe taking an online course is going to be easier than a face-to-face class. It is important that students understand online courses require greater responsibility\/ownership for their own learning. In a recent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "CAT & Mouse: E-Learning"","block_context":{"text":"CAT & Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"students putting together puzzle pieces leading toward success as a goal","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ghc.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/imce\/images\/learning_center\/success_sm.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6514,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/humanize-your-online-courses\/","url_meta":{"origin":8034,"position":3},"title":"Humanize Your Online Courses","author":"Janice Florent","date":"April 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Janice Florent Many online courses still rely heavily on text-based information and lack the rich visual context and warm human interactions that the social web offers. In a Faculty Focus article, Rob Kelly states, Taking an online course can be an isolating experience, but it doesn\u2019t have to be.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "CAT & Mouse: E-Learning"","block_context":{"text":"CAT & Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"student sitting and typing on laptop computer that is in her lap","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/student-849827_640.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9705,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/going-from-face-to-face-to-online-teaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":8034,"position":4},"title":"Going from Face-to-face to Online Teaching","author":"Janice Florent","date":"May 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Janice Florent Successfully moving courses online involves more than simply transferring what you are currently doing in your face-to-face class to the online class. If your aim is to create a meaningful online learning experience with long-lasting effects, you will have to rethink the way you teach. In a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "CAT & Mouse: E-Learning"","block_context":{"text":"CAT & Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"woman sitting at a table looking at mobile device with a laptop computer nearby","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/african-american-3548079_640.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12269,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/icymi-7-deadly-sins-of-online-course-design\/","url_meta":{"origin":8034,"position":5},"title":"ICYMI: 7 Deadly Sins of Online Course Design","author":"Janice Florent","date":"June 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In an Edvocate article, Daniel Stanford listed his seven deadly sins of online course design from a faculty developer\u2019s perspective. 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