Education Commons^™

Improving The Quality Of Academic Advisors' Practices To Aid Distance Learners’ Retention, Kenyeta R. Pino

Theses and Dissertations

The popularity of distance learning has increased among higher education students owing to its flexibility and convenience, as it enables learning from any location and at any time. Despite the substantial number of enrollments, distance learners are experiencing high attrition rates, leading to low completion rates compared to students enrolled in traditional in-person courses.

Academic advising is a significant contributor to student retention and an effective intervention used to support students at-risk of dropping out; therefore, advisors must provide the same degree of support to their distance learners as they do to their face-to-face advisees. This applied dissertation was designed …

Targeted Intervention For Distance Learning Students: A Critical Participatory Action Research Approach, Kathleen Mohr

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this critical participatory action research was to explore the learning experiences of distance learning students with academic penalties and to work collaboratively with students and institutional stakeholders to co-develop an intervention tailored to this unique population. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.

Higher Education And Covid-19: Impact On Nontraditional Students Following A Traditional Path, R. Lauren Miller

All Theses, Dissertations, and Capstone Projects

This phenomenological research aimed to examine the impact that transitioning to online education in March of the Spring 2020 semester in response to COVID-19 had on nontraditional students. Students are considered nontraditional if they meet at least one of the following criteria: are at least 25 years old, attend school part-time, work full-time, are a veteran, have children, wait at least one year after high school before entering college, have a GED instead of a high school diploma, are a first-generation student (FGS), are enrolled in non-degree programs, or have reentered a college program (MacDonald, 2018). Nontraditional students hold multiple …

Institutionalizing Blended And Distance Learning In Language Teaching At A Research University, Martine Rheaume

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are increasingly exploring innovative strategies to adapt to the 21^st century changing institutional context and to respond to the students’ needs and expectations. Given that technology in all its forms is ubiquitous in Education, one of HEIs’ strategical responses is the implementation of blended learning (BL) and distance learning (DL) as new pedagogies in all faculties. This organizational improvement plan (OIP) examines how a language department, part of the Faculty of Arts in a large research-focused University, can integrate BL and DL in language teaching. As this change is a significant departure from the current …

Student Outcomes In Online And Face-To-Face Classes At A Hispanic-Serving Institution (Hsi), Rebecca S. Cottrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As online course enrollments are increasing in higher education in the United States, it is increasingly important to understand student course outcomes in these classes, particularly at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI), where there has been limited previous research. This current study examines online course outcomes in the form of student course grades and student withdrawal rates as compared to outcomes in face-to-face courses. The setting for the study is Russell University, a public university in the Rocky Mountain west, and an HSI. Data used in this study came from a large, deidentified data set of all enrollments in any course offered …

Investigating Student Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of A First-Year Experience Online Program On Student Retention, Jennifer P. Bowman-Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation is a mixed-methods study designed to collect student perspectives of an online First-Year Experience (FE) course and to determine the overall value of the FE course. The researcher sought to identify what is the value of the FE course to the students enrolled in this online course. In the study’s survey, students will be asked a series of questions designed to determine the overall value of the FE course. For this study, the online FE course survey addressed the following theme areas: Course Content, Overall Satisfaction, Transfer Perceptions, and the participants are the new incoming students (first-year …

Higher Education Distance Advising In The 21st Century: Distance Learning Students' And Advisors' Perceptions, Brooke Lambert Brown

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The intent of this study was to focus on distance learning students’ and advisors’ perceptions of distance advising at a large, public university. Specifically, this study addressed four questions: what were the perceived performance gaps between distance learning students and distance learning advisors practice, how distance learning students’ needs were being satisfied, what tools and technology resources were being incorporated, and how advising needs differed based on college. The Winston and Sandor Academic Advising Inventory (AAI) served as the foundation for this quantitative research. The survey was modified accordingly and sent to two populations: distance learning advisors and distance learning …

Examining The Effects Of Ethnicity On Transactional Distance In An Online Distance Learning Course, Benson Kinyanjui

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Distance learning (DL), commonly referred to as online learning has grown exponentially in the past two decades with at least 85% of institutions of higher education in the US offering DL courses by 2013, serving more than 7 million students in the US. As the number of students taking online courses has increased, the number of ethnic minority students, specifically African Americans enrolled in online courses has also significantly increased. Despite this demonstrated interest in higher education, African Americans have had poorer learning outcomes and higher dropout rates than Caucasians in both online and face to face programs. According to …

Investigating And Understanding Student Learning Outcomes In An Online And Face-To-Face Graduate Level Legal Administration Course: An Embedded Mixed Methods Design, Hope E. Kentnor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Online education is a new teaching and learning medium with few current guidelines for faculty, administrators or students. Its rapid growth over the last decade has challenged academic institutions to keep up with the demand, while also providing a quality education. Our understanding of the factors that determine quality and effective online learning experiences that lead to student learning outcomes is still evolving. There is a lack of consensus on the effectiveness of online versus face-to-face education in the current research. The U.S. Department of Education conducted a meta-analysis in 2009 and concluded that student-learning outcomes in online courses were …

Online Versus Face-To-Face Biology: A Comparison Of Student Transactional Distance, Approach To Learning, And Knowledge Outcomes, Mary Erin Riggins

Dissertations

Community colleges are among many other institutions increasing course offerings online, but there is still some concern about the quality of online learning. Educator concerns, a lack of empirical evidence on biology courses offered online, and the need for an equal opportunity for education support the need for clarification of the quality of distance education in biology, especially in the community college setting. Student attitudes, approaches to learning, and performance should all be studied in order to formulate a better evaluation of the quality and effectiveness of online courses (Svirko & Mellanby, 2008).

The purpose of this study was to …

Academic Predictors Of Online Course Success In The Community College, Christy D. Hawkins

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify academic factors that might predict online course success for community college students. Online course success was a focus of national research and debate as studies consistently indicated lower success rates in online courses as compared to traditional courses; however, research that identified academic predictors to guide the development of policies and services that support student success in online courses was limited.

A random sample of 20 online course sections held at one multi-campus, urban community college resulted in 491 enrollees being examined for seventy-eight factors that might predict online course success. Factors …

A Study Of The Impact Of Institution Name, Tuition Price, Longevity, And Website Form On Online Student Enrollment, Scott Francis Snair

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Implementation Theory And Determinants For Success: A Case Study Of Televised Distance Learning Implementation In An Urban University, Deanne Shuman

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

The purpose of this study is to explore the implementation process of a distance learning initiative using televised instruction in an urban university. The scope and complexity of problems faced by colleges and universities today are growing, and public institutions are being asked to do more with less. Despite limited budgets and stretched resources, institutions are expected to be responsive to the challenges of change. Distance learning using televised instruction, which brings the classroom to the learner, is an available technology that can be responsive to students' diverse needs.

This study explores factors that facilitated or served as barriers in …