Does online learning impede degree completion? A national study of community college students |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. University at Albany, SUNY, NY 12222, USA;2. Furman University, USA;1. Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8131, Statesboro, GA 30460, United States;2. University of Manitoba, 234 Education Building, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2 Canada;1. Department of Computer Education & Instructional Technology, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Faculty of Education, 26480, Eskisehir, Turkey;2. Anadolu University, Faculty of Education, Turkey;1. Sciences Po, Observatoire sociologique du changement (OSC), 27, rue Saint-Guillaume, 75337, Paris Cedex 07, France;2. World Bank, Education Global Practice, MC 11-770, 1818 H St NW, Washington DC, 20433, USA |
| |
Abstract: | Using a nationally representative sample (The Beginning Postsecondary Student Survey, BPS 04/09), this study examined the associations between enrollment in credit-bearing distance education courses and degree attainment. We sought to determine whether US students enrolled in distance education courses during their first year of study at a community college tend to complete a degree (certificate, associate, or bachelor's) at significantly lower rates than those who were not enrolled in such courses or programs. Consistent with previous large-scale research at the State level in Virginia and Washington (Smith Jaggars & Xu, 2010; Xu & Smith Jaggars, 2011), we hypothesized that community college students who participate in distance education in early semesters graduate at lower rates than students who do not. Contrary to expectations, the study found that controlling for relevant background characteristics; students who take some of their early courses online or at a distance have a significantly better chance of attaining a community college credential than do their classroom only counterparts. These results imply that a new model of student retention in the age of the internet, one that assumes transactional adaptation, may be warranted. |
| |
Keywords: | Distance education Online learning Degree attainment Propensity score analysis |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|