Log in, drop out

Online students more likely to fail

Valerie Russell

The Signal

Flexibility may be the leading reason college students take online courses, but poor grade performances and high dropout rates tell a disappointing story.

In a time when educational budget cuts are soaring and educators fight to stay below their bottom lines, money generating strategies, such as online courses, are appealing, but concerns have been raised about students’ ability to make the grade.

A new research study by Di Xu and Shanna Jaggars with the Community College Research Center at Teachers College (CCRCTC) of Columbia University revealed that community college students who enrolled in online courses were more likely to drop or fail than those students who took hybrid or face-to-face courses. The study also discovered that students who enrolled in online courses in early semesters were less likely to return to the community college for future semesters or transfer to a four-year university.

The study found that students who choose to enroll in online courses are typically employed part or full-time and have families, which is why they are drawn to the flexibility of online classes. That is where the main struggle for these students occurs: time management.

“There’s no scheduled classes,” said Jaggars, senior researcher at CCRCTC. “So typically there’s only a schedule of when to turn in assignments or tests. It’s easy for students to forget about their online work, given that there’s other places that they have to be at a certain time, and so they can sometimes be surprised by the fact that an assignment is due today or that a test is due tomorrow morning.”

Online courses were first introduced at UHCL in 1992. In spring 2011, UHCL offered approximately 700 courses on Blackboard. That number includes face-to-face classes with Web assistance, hybrid and fully-online classes. In the past three years, UHCL has increased its selection of fully online degrees from five to 12.

“Each semester, the number of students enrolled in online courses has increased, said Shanta Goswami, director of online programs. “In fall 2005, the total number of students enrolled in online courses totaled 1,297, and has grown to 2,480 in fall of 2010.”

Goswami also said that online courses typically fill completely during the first week of registration.

Royce Walker, adjunct instructor in communication at UHCL and retired journalism chair at San Jacinto College, points out that online classes are not for all students, but that this method of delivery does provide education to students who may not be able to attend traditional classes due to situations such as work schedules, family responsibilities, distance and disabilities.

“I have taught both community college and university online classes over a number of years,” Walker said. “Students enrolled in online classes differ from semester to semester much like traditional face-to-face classes. Research indicates that there is a high withdrawal rate of students in distance learning classes. My opinion is that online classes require the student to be disciplined, proactive and able to manage time and deadlines.”

The report concludes students may not perform as well in an online course as a face-to-face course for three main reasons: 1) some students have difficulty with the technology, 2) students may feel disconnected from their instructor and other students, and 3) online courses tend to be less structured than face-to-face courses.

To address the issue of difficulties with the online platform, the Student Success Center (SCC) at UHCL offers Blackboard tutorials for students.

“One common misconception I hear from students is they thought the course would be easier and not require a lot of work or much of their time because it is online,” said Tim Richardson, director of the SSC.

Richardson says students considering enrolling in online courses should take into consideration the time commitment they are willing to put into a course, their learning style and if they are self disciplined enough to complete the work requirements.

How faculty members develop and design an online class is also an important variable to the success of students.

“The learning becomes more collaborative, contextual and active,” Walker said. “Faculty members become facilitators while guiding students in their learning.”

The Digital Academy for Online Learning is offered to UHCL faculty to develop the skills needed to learn Blackboard and how to switch a traditional face-to-face course to an online course. This semester UHCL has 20 members of its faculty enrolled.

“I have only received training at UHCL on the topic on the course site upgrade to Blackboard,” Walker said. “The university provides support through instructional designers. During my years at San Jacinto College, I attended many seminars and workshops in developing, teaching and offering classes through online technology. Also, I belonged to a Blackboard support group. San Jacinto College now requires the faculty to be certified to teach online courses.”

Students lean toward online courses because the schedules are more convenient and students can generally work at their own pace. An online environment can be more conductive to a student’s learning by offering a level of comfort in anonymity.

“When I was completing my bachelor degree I worked full-time and enrolled in as many online classes as my college offered,” said former UH student Jackie Rose. “I was self-disciplined, always turned my assignments in on schedule and made good grades. I did not have to tread through congested parking lots, I could work from anywhere, and I did have to have interaction with other students if I did want to.”