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ERIC Number: EJ1076255
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-May
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1521-0251
EISSN: N/A
Balancing Retention and Access in Online Courses: Restricting Enrollment… Is It Worth the Cost?
Hachey, Alyse C.; Wladis, Claire W.; Conway, Katherine M.
Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, v15 n1 p9-36 May 2013
Open access is central to the Community College mission. For this reason, any restriction in online enrollments should not be undertaken lightly. This study uses institutional data gathered from a large, urban community college to examine a policy aimed at increasing student retention in online courses by restricting those eligible to enroll based on Grade Point Average (GPA). The data, counter to expectations, show that the policy did not significantly impact attrition rates. Further analysis reveals that a high GPA cut-off (3.0) is needed to significantly affect attrition rates; however, this would severely restrict those eligible to enroll. The data indicate that students in the middle GPA range (2.0-3.5) have the highest proportional difference in attrition between online and face-to-face courses. The results suggest that rather than focusing on GPA restrictions, community colleges may be better served by addressing research and interventions targeted toward other factors to increase student retention in online learning.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Two Year Colleges; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New York
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A