Factors Impacting Completion in

a Community College Distance

Learning Environment,

1997-2004

Dr. Valerie C. Bryan

bryan@fau.edu

College of Education

Florida Atlantic University

United States

Ms. Jacqueline A. Johnson

jajohnso@ircc.edu

Indian River Community College

United States

Bryan, V. & Johnson, J. (2006). Factors Impacting Completion in a Community College

Distance Learning Environment, 1997-2004. In C. Crawford et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of

Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2006 (pp.

3362-3365). Chesapeake, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education

(AACE).

3-19-2006

Significance of the Problem

The community college must provide educational opportunities to meet the needs of the students by keeping up with rapid worldwide expansion of technology while staying focused on student success.

To provide the best technology possible to assure students’ success, the institution must examine various technological modalities in distance education to determine those that are most effective with a diverse student population that strives to prepare for an ever-changing world.

Literature

Literature attests to rapid growth for Internet/Web courses

and increase in interactive television courses, but the rate

of growth for telecourses has declined. (Seppanen & Stern,

1999)

Brewer (1997) stressed the need for more research to be

done on the distance education learner in order to

understand factors relating to student success.

In spite of a rather lengthy history, distance education has

not been researched extensively (Zirkle, 2003).

Literature

Thelkeld & Brzoska (1994): “Adults who are most likely to complete courses using distance technology have a cluster of important characteristics, [including] need for autonomy and an ability to be flexible.”

Ellis and Stebbins (1996) found that open-door policies of community colleges create problems in providing quality programs that will ensure student success for an increasingly diverse student population.

MacWilliams (2000) emphasized that universal needs are diverse; alternative distance learning formats will address those needs.

Purpose

. . . investigated factors affecting completion of courses in a community college by analyzing pre-existing and newly collected data on 5,004 distance learning students and 88 distance learning instructors for a seven (7) year period.

Three delivery methodologies were the focus of the study: Telecourse, live interactive TV, and Internet.

Study attempted to determine relationships between completion and variable of gender, age, ethnicity, and degree-seeking status.

Other research questions were also explored related to self-directed readiness, instructor satisfaction and student satisfaction.

Research Questions

1. Are gender, age, ethnicity, and degree-seeking status factors related to completion rates for distance-learning students taking

– telecourses,

– live interactive television courses, or

– Internet courses?

2. Are there differences in completion rates for distance-learning students who use different methodologies—

– telecourse,

– live interactive television,

– Internet?

Research Questions

3. Does the degree of self-directed learning readiness differ for distance-learning students who take

– telecourses,

– live interactive television courses, or

– internet courses?

4. Are there differences in the level of instructor involvement with distance-learning students who take

– telecourses,

– live interactive TV courses, or

– Internet courses?

Research Questions

5. How satisfied are distance-learning students with

• telecourses,

• live interactive television courses, and

• Internet courses?

6. How satisfied are instructors of distance-learning

students with

• telecourses,

• live interactive television courses, and

• Internet courses?

Methodology

Population

• 5,004 distance-learning students,

• a 10% sample of the 50,042 student enrolled in distance learning courses during the seven year period 1997-2004, and ,

• 88 distance-learning instructors of a community college.

• The distance learning students were pursuing degrees in Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, and Associate of Applied Science and certification in vocational education.

Methodology

Used pre-existing data

Used new assessments to investigate factors that

potentially impacted completion of distance

learning courses at the community college level.

Coding of participants allowed for data

collection on completion rates, instructor

involvement and student and instructor

satisfaction as it related to the different modalities

Data Analyses

Data Breakdown

Telecourse students (16.3%),

interactive television students (25%), and

Internet students (58.7%) over the various academic years.

The Internet modality began with the least number of student but showed substantial increase overall.

Sample: Represented the proportions evident in the overall population at this institution during the time period under investigation.

Newly Collected

Data

• On distance-learning instructors who had

taught at least one distance learning course

during the 1997-1998 and 2003-2004

academic years.

• On a randomly selected group of students

currently enrolled in distance learning

courses in the spring of 2004.

Instruments Used

Three (3) survey instruments designed by the college distance education and institutional technology personnel were used.

Fourth (4th) instrument was used to determine a total score for self-directed readiness (Learning Preference Assessment (LPA), a new version of the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) (Guglielmino, 1991).

The final instrument, Johnson Faculty Survey for Distance Learning Courses, was a field-tested instrument on faculty involvement in, and satisfaction with, distance learning courses was designed by the primary researcher (Johnson, 2004).

Results: Gender, Completion &

Modalities

• Significant relationships were found between

ethnicities and completions and age and

completion.

• NO significant relationship between gender and

completion in any of the analyses.

• Were more male non-completers than completers

and more female non-completers than completers

in all the modalities.

Results: Age & Completion &

Modalities

• Significant completion differences between age groups

between the telecourses and the Internet courses.

– The younger students taking the telecourse and the Internet courses tended not to complete while older age group did complete.

– Students under the age of 21 had the lowest percentage of completion in the telecourse and the Internet course.

– In general, students under the age of 31 tended not to complete Internet courses. Such difference was not noted in the interactive TV.

– However, overall analysis of age and completion reveal that as age increased, completion rates increased.

Results: Ethnicity, Completion &

Modalities • A significant relationship between ethnicity and

completion

• A significant difference between white and minority (Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Indian) students who completed telecourses and Internet courses,

• Little difference between white and minority students who completed interactive TV courses.

• For the entire group, white tend to be equally completers and non-completers, while non-whites (minorities) tended to be non-completers. Statistically significant relationship between ethnicity and completion.

– Confirms racial differences in use of technology in college, that particular study did not reveal if the differences impacted college outcomes (Flowers and Zhang, 2003)

Results: Degree-seeking, Completion

& Modalities A significant relationship between degree-seeking

status and completion for live interactive TV students and for Internet students.

AA and AS degrees tend to complete their courses (both interactive TV & Internet students)

Non-degree-seeking students do not complete theirs.

No significant relationship between degree-seeking status and completion for telecourse students.

Telecourse students seeking the AA or AS degree & non-degree seeking tend not to complete their courses;

But for the group overall, the relationship between degree-seeking status and completion is significant.

Level of student satisfaction with distance learning modalities was inconclusive.

Results: Self-Directed Learning

Readiness, Completion, Modality Individuals who chose the distance learning formats had

above-average self-directed learning readiness scores as reflected by Guglielmino’s Self Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS);

No significance difference on scores by modality. The chi-square between the different modalities was not statistically significant.

Chi-square and point-biserial tests also revealed no significant relationship between modality and course completion for SDLRS/LPA respondents.

No significant relationship between completer status and learning readiness for the sample tested.

Results: Instructor Involvement &

Modality Instructor involvement noted in the literature as having a positive

effect on student learning in the distance learning environment (Miller and Webster, 1997; Kember & Gow, 1994; Meyers and Jones, 1993).

Instrument was created for this research (Johnson Distance Learning Faculty Survey) in areas such as

communication modes,

student-teacher interaction,

student-student interaction,

synchronous and asynchronous chats, and

support services.

Results: Instructor Involvement &

Modality Significant relationships were found between

instructors mandating use of the library and modality.

Significant difference in number of teacher-student meeting sessions scheduled among the modalities and in asynchronous postings on bulletin boards.

Post hoc analysis revealed that Internet instructors used asynchronous postings more than telecourse and live-TV instructors.

Results: Satisfaction of Distance

Learning Instructors & Modality

Statistical differences by modality for instructors.

Internet instructors were more satisfied

with the Internet as a delivery mode than

telecourse instructors were satisfied with the

telecourse as a delivery mode.

Results showed no other group differences.

Little difference was noted in instructor satisfaction

with different modalities.

Conclusions

As distance learning expands in the community college level,

the students in that environment continue to change, and

the obstacles these students face continue to impact the delivery systems involved, and therefore,

is imperative that researchers continue to try and identify

the trends,

the successes and

the modifications that are needed.

This study has attempted to do that using both pre-existing and newly created data.

Recommendations

Focus on how to ensure higher completion rates using the best practices in the different modalities.

Continue to try and match what delivery systems work best for the various genders, age groups, ethnicities, and degree-seeking levels.

Focus on what encourages both the instructor and the student to select the various modes of deliveries;

Explore the relationships between distance learning courses and student achievement in relation to completion between genders, age groups, ethnic groups;

Identify what practices ensue success in all delivery systems;

Identify what barriers we can eliminate to enhance all the learning delivery modes for the instructor and the student.

References

Guglielmino, L.M. & Guglielmino, P. J. (1991). ‘The learning preference assessment (Self-directed learning readiness scale). In J. Maltby, C.A. Lewis, & A. Hill, The handbook of psychological tests. Wales, U.K.: Edwin Mellen Press, 2000.

Johnson, J.A. (2005). Investigation of factors affecting completion of distance-learning courses as a community college for a seven-year period. Unpublished dissertation, Florida Atlantic University.

Kember, D., & Gow, L. (1994). Orientations to teaching and their effect on the quality of student learning. Journal of Higher Education, 65, 58-74.

References

Meyers, C. & Jones, T.B. (1993). Promoting active learning: Strategies for the college classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Miller, W.W., & J.K. Webster (1997). A comparison of interaction needs and performance of distance learners in synchronous and asynchronous classes. Paper presented at the American Vocational Association Convention, Las Vegas, NV. (ERIC Document Reproduction no. 463 457)