Student Success Coaching to Support Retention of Online Students

The presenters of this session represent two different perspectives to a success coach program that has demonstrated achievement of outcomes; two presenters created the coaching program which has been implemented at over 15 universities nationwide through their work in an online program management company and one serves in a leadership position at a campus that brought on this coaching program.  The session will introduce the perspectives of the presenters and share the needs of online learners. Following this, the majority of session will review the key elements of a proactive success coaching program including: the ideal ratio of number of student to coaches (including strategies for establishing this on each campus), what a proactive communication cadence (frequency and modality) should look like, how to track and report on communication to draw meaningful insights, what kind of triggers (e.g. missing class or an assignment) should be monitored to understand potential at-risk variables, and most importantly, how to measure the success and monitor the quality of the program.  We will present the outcomes achieved through this program across our campuses

References and resources

Few would argue that online learning is transforming the higher education landscape and the student experience of college students across the nation. While enrollment in higher education may be decreasing, students are enrolling in online courses at an increasing rate: in fact, as of 2015, almost 30% (29.7%) of students in higher education are taking at least one distance course and among the 30%, 14.3% are taking all courses at a distance. Growth is seen across the board in private for-profit AND public and private not-for-profit institutions have grown their distance learning enrollments (Allen & Seaman, 2017). Understanding this population is paramount for fulfilling our duty of meeting the needs of all students.

The dropout rates of online students vary - some found as few as 15% of students drop out, some researchers found as many as 50-70% of online students dropout (Hobbs, 2004; Tallent-Runnels et al., 2006). Various reasons for dropout have become known including feeling isolated and disconnected, having technology-related issues, lack of connectivity with and instructional direction from faculty, loss of focus and motivation, and lack of social interaction with peers (Lehman & Conceicao, 2014).

One key strategy for retaining online students is ensuring they feel connected and supported through proactive (sometimes called intrusive) success coaching. This kind of support is beyond the scope of what is typically offered to on ground students who usually have the ability to drop into an office to receive support elsewhere when visiting campus  or can more easily connect with their faculty members or peers during a face-to-face class (Bettinger, Fox, Loeb, Taylor, E. S, 2017; Boerner, 2015; Cannon, 2013).

References

• Allen, E. and Seaman, J. (2017). Digital Learning Compass: Distance Education Enrollment Report 2017. Digital Learning Compass. Babson Survey Research Group, e-Literate, WCET.

• Conceico, S.C.O. and Lehman, R.M. (2012, November). Motivation and support strategies for online adult learners in the 21st century. American Association for Adult and Continuing Education. Las Vegas, NV.

• Hobbs, V. (2004). The promise and power of online learning in rural education. Arlington. VA: Rural School and Community Trust.

• Lehman, R. M., & Conceicao, S. C. O. (2014). Motivating and Retaining Online Students: Research-Based Strategies That Work. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• Rovai, A.P. (2003). In search of higher persistence rates in distance education online programs. Internet & Higher Education, 6(1), 1-6.

• Tallent-Runnels, M.K., Thomas, J.A., Lan, W.Y., Cooper, S. Ahern, T.C., Shaw, S.M. & Liu, X. (2006). Teaching courses online. A review of the research.  Research of Educational Research, 76(1).

• Bettinger, E. P., Fox, L., Loeb, S., & Taylor, E. S. (September 01, 2017). Virtual Classrooms: How Online College Courses Affect Student Success. American Economic Review, 107, 9, 2855-2875.

• Boerner, H. (August 01, 2015). Predicting Success: How Predictive Analytics Are Transforming Student Support and Success Programs. Community College Journal, 86, 1, 14-18.

• Cannon, J. (2013, March). Intrusive advising 101: How to be intrusive without intruding. Academic Advising Today, 36(1). Retrieved from http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-Advising-Today/View-Articles/Intrusive-Advising-101-How-to-be-Intrusive-Without-Intruding.aspx

Program Goals & Outcomes (100 words)

As a result of attending this program, attendees will be able to

• Summarize key considerations for designing a success coach program including student to coach ratio, creating a proactive outreach cadence and monitoring at-risk triggers

• Describe what kind of triggers should be monitored to flag potential at-risk behaviors and subsequent follow-up

• Discuss how to measure the success of a success coaching program

Methods for participant involvement:  

Opportunities will be woven throughout to invite audience to ask questions or comment. Attendees will also be invited to participate and contribute ideas to an online tool in the event that they do not feel comfortable doing so in person. Further time will be reserved at the end of the session for a pair-share and audience sharing of strategies for success they have implemented.

Outline of Session

Presentation agenda

• Introductions

• Overview of online learner needs

• Program design

  1. Ratio

  2. Proactive outreach cadence

  3. Tracking communication

  4. Monitoring at risk triggers

  5. Measures of success (KPIs)

     • Evidence of success of the program we implemented

• Audience strategy sharing