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Addressing student attrition within higher education online programs through a collaborative community of practice
Citation
Canty, AJ and Chase, J and Hingston, M and Greenwood, M and Mainsbridge, CP and Skalicky, J, Addressing student attrition within higher education online programs through a collaborative community of practice, Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching, 3, (S1) Article 3. ISSN 2591-801X (2020) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2020 The Authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
DOI: doi:10.37074/jalt.2020.3.s1.3
Abstract
Student retention is a key strategic issue in higher education affecting student experience, university funding, and reputation. It is critical for institutions to identify factors that impact upon student success, build effective strategies to enhance student outcomes, and respond to the emerging evidence-base of distance student engagement. The University of Tasmania has one of the highest attrition rates in Australia, at 28 percent for commencing bachelor students. Studying by distance is a known risk factor affecting attrition and it is vital that we understand the challenges that ‘at risk’ distance students face when they engage in higher education and how to best support them for success. This study describes a Community of Practice approach that identified four key challenges to reduce student attrition in online degree programs: (i) the importance of knowing your students, (ii) the difficulty in getting reliable data, (iii) the need for ‘belonging’ for online students and early, meaningful engagement, and (iv) student access to known academics. With no magic bullet to reduce student attrition rates, we present a range of targeted and connected early interventions designed to support students to succeed and enhance their learning experience.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | attrition, retention, distance education, early intervention, learning analytics, non-traditional students, online education, student engagement, student retention, student success |
| Research Division: | Education |
| Research Group: | Education systems |
| Research Field: | Higher education |
| Objective Division: | Education and Training |
| Objective Group: | Learner and learning |
| Objective Field: | Learner and learning not elsewhere classified |
| UTAS Author: | Canty, AJ (Associate Professor Alison Canty) |
| UTAS Author: | Chase, J (Associate Professor James Chase) |
| UTAS Author: | Hingston, M (Mr Matthew Hingston) |
| UTAS Author: | Greenwood, M (Associate Professor Melanie Greenwood) |
| UTAS Author: | Mainsbridge, CP (Mr Casey Mainsbridge) |
| UTAS Author: | Skalicky, J (Associate Professor Jane Skalicky) |
| ID Code: | 138817 |
| Year Published: | 2020 |
| Deposited By: | Nursing |
| Deposited On: | 2020-04-30 |
| Last Modified: | 2021-01-27 |
| Downloads: | 41 View Download Statistics |
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