Exploring Characteristics of Retained First-Year Students Enrolled in Non-Proximal Distance Learning Programs

This study explored pre- and post-admission characteristics of retained first-year students enrolled in non-proximal distance learning programs within public, 2-year colleges. Five pre-admission and six post-admission characteristics were explored. The sample for this study consisted of 197 first-year students enrolled in non-proximal distance learning programs from among five, public, 2-year colleges in Virginia. A quantitative data collection method was used in this exploratory study. Data analysis revealed that a majority of participants: (1) were non-traditional-aged White females, with a high GPA and experience with technology; (2) were employed on a full-time basis and had dependent children; (3) had a high school and college GPA of above 3.0; (4) believed the institutional academic advising system was more than adequate; (5) noted that commitment to the institution and graduation were important; and (6) had access to technology.

[1]  F. J. Wyman.  A Predictive Model of Retention Rate at Regional Two-Year Colleges , 1997 .

[2]  John McLaughlin,et al.  Research and Evaluation Methods in Special Education , 2003 .

[3]  Margaret Gorts Morabito.  Foundations of Distance Education. , 1997 .

[4]  Mike Moore,et al.  The Effects of Distance Learning: A Summary of Literature. Research Monograph Number 2. , 1990 .

[5]  B. L. Bower,et al.  From correspondence to cyberspace: Changes and challenges in distance education , 2004 .

[6]  S. Thomas.  Ties That Bind , 2000 .

[7]  Titus Schleyer,et al.  Research Paper: Methods for the Design and Administration of Web-based Surveys , 2000, J. Am. Medical Informatics Assoc..

[8]  Ernest T. Pascarella,et al.  How College Affects Students: A Third Decade of Research. Volume 2. , 2005 .

[9]  D. Chapman,et al.  A Multiinstitutional, Path Analytic Validation of Tinto’s Model of College Withdrawal , 1983 .

[10]  Vincent Tinto.  Dropout from Higher Education: A Theoretical Synthesis of Recent Research , 1975 .

[11]  John H. Schuh.  The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System , 2002 .

[12]  Jacques R. Dubois.  Going the Distance , 1996 .

[13]  Badrul H. Khan,et al.  Toward a Learner-Oriented Community College Online Course Dropout Framework , 2007 .

[14]  Moisés Próspero,et al.  First Generation College Students: Motivation, Integration, and Academic Achievement , 2007 .

[15]  Annette C. Sherry,et al.  The Influence of Computer Confidence on Retention in the Community College , 1997 .

[16]  Eric Deeson,et al.  Handbook of distance education , 2004, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[17]  Joe E. Wheaton,et al.  Online Data Collection: Strategies for Research. , 2004 .

[18]  Peter Hernon.  The survey kit , 1996 .

[19]  Norma S. Guerra,et al.  A Closer Look at College Students: Self-Efficacy and Goal Orientation , 2007 .

[20]  I. E. Allen,et al.  Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning. , 2007 .

[21]  P. Chisnall.  Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method , 2007, Journal of Advertising Research.

[22]  Wendy C. Kemp.  Persistence of Adult Learners in Distance Education , 2002 .

[23]  Juan Carlos Calcagno,et al.  Community College Student Success: What Institutional Characteristics Make a Difference?. , 2005 .

[24]  M. Kemp,et al.  Changing student finances : income, expenditure and take-up of student loans among full- and part-time higher education students in 1998/9 , 2000 .

[25]  David Allen.  DESIRE TO FINISH COLLEGE: An Empirical Link Between Motivation and Persistence , 1999 .

[26]  T. Waits.  Distance Education at Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions: 2000-2001. E.D. Tabs. , 2003 .

[27]  Derek Rowntree,et al.  Exploring Open and Distance Learning , 1992 .

[28]  S. Schwartz,et al.  Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition , 1987 .

[29]  Karen Swan,et al.  Virtual interaction: Design factors affecting student satisfaction and perceived learning in asynchronous online courses , 2001 .

[30]  A. P. Rovai.  Building and sustaining community in asynchronous learning networks , 2000, Internet High. Educ..

[31]  Beth Dietz-Uhler,et al.  Designing Online Courses to Promote Student Retention , 2007 .

[32]  A. P. Rovai.  Building Sense of Community at a Distance , 2002, Distances et médiations des savoirs.

[33]  J. Somers.  WITHIN-YEAR PERSISTENCE OF STUDENTS AT TWO-YEAR COLLEGES , 2000 .

[34]  O. Simpson.  The impact on retention of interventions to support distance learning students , 2004 .

[35]  D. Jackson,et al.  Predictors of First Semester Attrition and Their Relation to Retention of Generic Associate Degree Nursing Students. , 2002 .

[36]  J. D. Baker,et al.  Gender Differences in Online Learning: Sense of Community, Perceived Learning, and Interpersonal Interactions. , 2005 .

[37]  J. Glass,et al.  ATTRITION AND RETENTION AMONG ACCOUNTING MAJORS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES: PROBLEMS AND POSSIBLE REMEDIATION , 2003 .

[38]  Badrul Khan,et al.  Managing E-Learning Strategies: Design, Delivery, Implementation and Evaluation , 2005 .

[39]  Sarah Carr.  As Distance Education Comes of Age, the Challenge Is Keeping the Students. , 2000 .

[40]  Herbert E. Muse.  The Web-based community college student: An examination of factors that lead to success and risk , 2003, Internet and Higher Education.

[41]  D. Fike,et al.  Predictors of First-Year Student Retention in the Community College , 2008 .

[42]  Ronald C. McArthur,et al.  Facultq-Based Advising: An Important Factor in Community College Retention , 2005 .

[43]  Laura A. Brady.  Fault Lines in the Terrain of Distance Education. , 2001 .

[44]  Karen J. Roberts,et al.  Going the distance. , 2003, The American journal of nursing.

[45]  J. Sweeney.  Nursing Research—Principles and Methods , 1991 .

[46]  Angela D. Benson,et al.  ACHIEVEMENT IN ONLINE AND CAMPUS-BASED CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION (CTE) COURSES , 2005 .

[47]  A. Kirkman.  Ties That Bind , 2001, Journal of lesbian studies.

[48]  Mark J Kittleson,et al.  Conducting web-based survey research: a lesson in internet designs. , 2003, American journal of health behavior.

[49]  Antje Strauss,et al.  Theory And Practice Of Distance Education , 2016 .

[50]  Virginia Roach,et al.  Satisfaction with Online Learning: A Comparative Descriptive Study. , 2006 .

[51]  R. Bennett.  Determinants of Undergraduate Student Drop Out Rates in a University Business Studies Department , 2003 .

[52]  Thomas Valasek.  Student Persistence in Web-Based Courses: Identifying a Profile for Success. , 2001 .

[53]  Larry H. Ebbers,et al.  RETHINKING STUDENT RETENTION IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES , 2002 .

[54]  Jo Ann M. Whiteman.  The Adult Learner in the Computer Mediated Environment. , 2002 .

[55]  Clifford Adelman,et al.  Moving into Town--and Moving On: The Community College in the Lives of Traditional-Age Students. , 2005 .

[56]  Barbara S. Metzner,et al.  A Conceptual Model of Nontraditional Undergraduate Student Attrition , 1985 .

[57]  T. Wagner,et al.  Self-Reported Utilization of Health Care Services: Improving Measurement and Accuracy , 2006, Medical care research and review : MCRR.

[58]  Zane L. Berge,et al.  Barriers to distance education: A factor‐analytic study , 2001 .