IMPROVING STUDENT
RETENTION WITH
BLACKBOARD
Lori Vargo
Director of e-Learning
Online Students: Most important factor…
• Institutional support to students
• Increased faculty instruction
• Last grade received in an online course
• Maintaining an adequate GPA
• Meaningful feedback given to students
• No transfer credit received by student
• Quality of faculty and student interactions
• Student self-discipline
• Transfer credit received by students
Online Faculty: Most important factor…
• Institutional support to students
• Increased faculty instruction
• Last grade received in an online course
• Maintaining an adequate GPA
• Meaningful feedback given to students
• No transfer credit received by student
• Quality of faculty and student interactions
• Student self-discipline
• Transfer credit received by students
Top 3 factors that affect student retention
in online courses are:
According to Faculty
1.
Student self-discipline
According to Students
1. Increased faculty
instruction
2.
3.
Quality of faculty and
student interactions
2. Meaningful feedback
Institutional support
to students
3. Transfer credit
given to students
received by students
Comparing Faculty and Student Perceptions Regarding Factors The
Affect Student Retention in Online Education
Jorge Gaytan, North Carolina A&T State University, 2015
Top Ten Reasons for Non-Success
1.
I got behind and it was too hard to catch up (19.7%)
2.
I had personal problems (health, job, child care) (14.2%)
3.
I couldn’t handle combined study plus work or family
responsibilities (13.7%)
4.
I didn’t like the online format (7.3%)
5.
I didn’t like the instructor’s teaching style (7.3%)
6.
I experienced too many technical difficulties (6.8%)
7.
The course was taking too much time (6.2%)
8.
I lacked motivation (5%)
9.
I signed up for too many courses and had to cut down on my
course load (4.3%)
10. The course was too difficult (3%)
What do unsuccessful online students want us to know?
Marie Fetzer, Monroe Community College, 2013
Bb’s Retention Center
1. Utilize Retention Center information to monitor student
engagement
2. View and modify rules for alerts
3. Create new rules
How to Find Retention Center
1.
USCB student
USCB student
3.
2.
1
USCB student
USCB student
USCB student
USCB student
USCB student
USCB student
2
Risk Table
USCB Student
USCB Student
USCB Student
USCB Student
USCB Student
USCB Student
Contacting Students at Risk
USCB Student
USCB Student
USCB Student
USCB Student
USCB Student
USCB Student
Contacting Students at Risk
USCB Student
Course Title
3
Monitoring Students
USCB Student
USCB Student
Customizing Rules
USCB Student
USCB Student
USCB Student
Monitoring Your Engagement
Review
• Retention Center shows you
• Students at risk
• Specific people or rules you are monitoring
• Your course activity
• Easy to notify students at risk
• Create, delete, and edit rules
Advice to potential students from
UNSUCCESSFUL online students
1. Stay up with course activities – don’t get behind
2. Use good time management skills
3. Use good organization skills
4. Set aside specific time during each week for your
online class
5. Know how to get technical help
6. A lot of writing is required
Advice to potential students from
UNSUCCESSFUL online students
7. There is a lot of reading in the textbook and in
online discussion – be prepared
8. Regular online communications are needed
9. Ask the professor if you have questions
10. Carefully read the course syllabus
11. Be sure you understand the requirements of the
online course discussions
12. Understand how much each online activity is
worth toward your grade
What do Faculty Developers recommend
to faculty for IMPROVING retention…
1. Open portions of your course site before the
starts.
2. Set the tone for engaging the class in a
community of purpose
3. KISS: Keep the course operations simple
4. Make the structure of the course and
expectations for overall flow explicit.
The Road to Retention: A Closer Look at Institutions That
Achieve High Course Completion Rates
Janet Moore, Sloane Consortium
Marie Fetzner, Monroe Community College
What do Faculty Developers recommend
to faculty for IMPROVING retention…
5. Link to student services and resources
from within the course.
6. Provide a detailed timeline
7. Encourage students to support each other
8. Provide frequent and regular checkpoints
What do Faculty Developers recommend
to faculty for IMPROVING retention…
9. Present learning tasks in terms of
problem-solving
10. Flexibility in communication and delivery
requires underlying structure and
predictability
11. Give
your students the opportunity to
publish work
Bibliography
• Fetzner, M. (2013). What do unsuccessful online students want us to
know?” Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 17(1).
• Gaytan J. (2015). Comparing faculty and student perceptions
regarding factors that affect student retention in online education.
American Journal of Distance Education 29, 56–66.
• James, S. Swan, K. & Daston, C. (2016). Retention, progression, and
the taking of online courses. Online Learning Journal 20(2).
• Meyer, K., Bruwellheide, & K. Poulin, R. (2009). Why they stayed:
near-perfect retention in an online certification program in library
media. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 13 (3).
• Moore, J. & Fetzer, M. (2009). The road to retention: a closer look at
institutions that achieve high course completion rates. Journal of
Asynchronous Learning Networks, 13 (3).
IMPROVING STUDENT
RETENTION WITH
BLACKBOARD
Lori Vargo, Director of e-Learning
[email protected]
Ext. 8272