Online Course-taking and Student Outcomes in California Community Colleges

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra M.D. Hart ◽  
Elizabeth Friedmann ◽  
Michael Hill

This paper uses fixed effects analyses to estimate differences in student performance under online versus face-to-face course delivery formats in the California Community College system. On average, students have poorer outcomes in online courses in terms of the likelihood of course completion, course completion with a passing grade, and receiving an A or B. These estimates are robust across estimation techniques, different groups of students, and different types of classes. Accounting for differences in instructor characteristics (including through the use of instructor fixed effects) dampens but does not fully explain the estimated relationships. Online course-taking also has implications for downstream outcomes, although these effects are smaller. Students are more likely to repeat courses taken online, but are less likely to take new courses in the same subject following courses taken online.

AERA Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 233285841983285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra M. D. Hart ◽  
Dan Berger ◽  
Brian Jacob ◽  
Susanna Loeb ◽  
Michael Hill

This article uses fixed effects models to estimate differences in contemporaneous and downstream academic outcomes for students who take courses virtually and face-to-face—both for initial attempts and for credit recovery. We find that while contemporaneous outcomes are positive for virtual students in both settings, downstream outcomes vary by attempt type. For first-time course takers, virtual course taking is associated with decreases in the likelihood of taking and passing follow-on courses and in graduation readiness (based on a proxy measure). For credit recovery students, virtual course taking is associated with an increased likelihood of taking and passing follow-on courses and being in line for graduation. Supplemental analyses suggest that selection on unobservables would have to be substantial to render these results null.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 238212052110377
Author(s):  
Paige Eansor ◽  
Madeleine E. Norris ◽  
Leah A. D’Souza ◽  
Glenn S. Bauman ◽  
Zahra Kassam ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND The Anatomy and Radiology Contouring (ARC) Bootcamp was a face-to-face (F2F) course designed to ensure radiation oncology residents were equipped with the knowledge and skillset to use radiation therapy techniques properly. The ARC Bootcamp was proven to be a useful educational intervention for improving learners’ knowledge of anatomy and radiology and contouring ability. An online version of the course was created to increase accessibility to the ARC Bootcamp and provide a flexible, self-paced learning environment. This study aimed to describe the instructional design model used to create the online offering and report participants’ motivation to enroll in the course and the online ARC Bootcamp's strengths and improvement areas. METHODS The creation of the online course followed the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation (ADDIE) framework. The course was structured in a linear progression of locked modules consisting of radiology and contouring lectures, anatomy labs, and integrated evaluations. RESULTS The online course launched on the platform Teachable in November 2019, and by January 2021, 140 participants had enrolled in the course, with 27 participants completing all course components. The course had broad geographic participation with learners from 19 different countries. Of the participants enrolled, 34% were female, and most were radiation oncology residents (56%), followed by other programs (24%), such as medical physics residents or medical students. The primary motivator for participants to enroll was to improve their subject knowledge/skill (44%). The most common strength identified by participants was the course's quality (41%), and the most common improvement area was to incorporate more course content (41%). CONCLUSIONS The creation of the online ARC Bootcamp using the ADDIE framework was feasible. The course is accessible to diverse geographic regions and programs and provides a flexible learning environment; however, the course completion rate was low. Participants’ feedback regarding their experiences will inform future offerings of the online course.


Author(s):  
Morgan Jennings ◽  
Charles H. Mawhinney ◽  
Janos Fustos

How can we retain computer information systems (CIS) students? A decline in enrollment similar to that which occurred in the 80’s (Mawhinney, Callaghan, & Cale, 1989) is the motivating factor for this question. A google™ search on declining enrollments in information systems brings up reports supporting this trend. DePaul University, for example, had increased undergraduate enrollments “in all colleges but the School for New Learning and the School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems” (DePaul University, 2003). A report from the California Community College system listed the top 15 curricular areas of declining FTE’s (Perry, 2003); Computer and Information Science and Computer programming made the list. Our own Computer Information Systems (CIS) and Computer Science programs have fewer students enrolled.


2014 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T. Mann ◽  
Shida R. Henneberry

The objectives of this article were to determine: 1) students' preferences for college course attributes; and 2) how the amount of course attribute information impacts enrollment. Results indicate students had the highest preferences for face-to-face (F2F) courses offered late morning and early afternoon and two to three days per week. Students selected online over F2F courses depending on course makeup; for example, course topic, online course design technology, and when the F2F version was offered. Additionally, students selected online courses more frequently when additional online course attribute information was available during course selection.


Author(s):  
Maria Joseph Israel

<p class="BodyA">The idea of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) has attracted a lot of media attention in the last couple of years. MOOCs have been used mostly as stand-alone online courses without credits. However, some researchers, teachers, colleges, and universities have attempted to utilize MOOCs in blended format in traditional classroom settings. This paper reviews some recent experiments in the context of current trends in MOOCs by examining methodologies utilized in blended MOOCs in a face-to-face environment. This paper further discusses the preliminary findings related to its effectiveness of learning outcomes and its impact on students and instructors in blended MOOCs format. The review of blended MOOCs in classrooms assists to form the emerging consensus on integrating MOOCs in conventional classroom settings, while highlighting potential opportunities and challenges one might face when implementing MOOCs in similar or entirely different contexts.</p>


EAD em FOCO ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Cristina Ferreira de Oliveira ◽  
Mara Rosana Pedrinho ◽  
Adriane Orenha Ottaiano

O trabalho versa sobre os conteúdos relacionados ao tema alfabetização?, presentes nas disciplinas nos cursos de Pedagogia, nas modalidades presencial e à distância. De cunho documental, esta pesquisa tece algumas considerações acerca da formação dos docentes, no que tange a cursos para professores nas modalidades presencial e a distância (EaD). Apresenta uma análiseacerca do rol de atividades presentes por estas instituições, além do estudo das grades e disciplinas ofertadas no que diz respeito à leitura e escrita de alunos. Os resultados indicam que a instituição de ensino superior presencial possui mais matérias sobre alfabetização (um total de treze disciplinas) em relação à faculdade de ensino a distância (seis disciplinas). Estas e outras considerações complementares são explicitadas ao longo do presente artigo.Palavras-chave: Formação docente, Alfabetização, Conteúdo curricular.Literacy on focus: a comparative analysis between Institutions of Higher EducationAbstractThis study deals with the content related to the theme "literacy" present in the disciplines of a face-to-face as well as a distant and online course of Pedagogy. The research begins with a brief historical revisitation of higher education and teacher training, regarding face-to-face as well as distant and online courses for teachers. It also presents an analysis that shows the activities carried out by these institutions, besides the study of the syllabus and disciplines that focus on students reading and writing. The results show that the face-to-face institution has more subjects on literacy (thirteen subjects in all) in comparison to the distant education institution (six subjects). This finding and others shall be explained throughout this paper.Keywords: Teacher Training, Literacy, Curriculum content.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elvira J. Abrica ◽  
Martha Rivas

Various inequities and challenges facing Latinx students in community colleges continue to be documented. Yet, less documented are the challenges associated with advocacy efforts to support Latinx and other underrepresented Students of Color within the community college sector. There is not often pause to consider: who advocates for Latinx students? When and how does this advocacy take shape? In this article, we offer Chicana testimonios as institutional research (IR) professionals to highlight ways we experience, respond to, and challenge institutionalized racism and systemic obstacles to advocate for Latinx students in the California community college system. We situate our testimonios within a critique of the pillar of neutrality associated with the institutional research profession and argue for a critical examination of the ways in which IR may play an active role in the perpetuation or the dismantling of educational inequities in California community colleges.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Houston Heflin ◽  
Suzanne Macaluso

Assessing the degree to which students engage and learn from their online courses will be important as online courses are becoming more ubiquitous. This study sought to capture student perceptions of their independence as learners, their level of engagement, their effort exerted, and the amount of information they learned in online courses. The study was conducted over three years with 455 students who completed a self-assessment at the end of an intensive summer online course. Results showed an equal number of students agreeing and disagreeing that online courses help students learn the same amount of information encountered in a face-to-face course. The majority of students reported they were more independent (84.4%), were more engaged (54.5%) and exerted more effort (57.4%), in their online course than a typical face-to-face class. Recommendations are made for faculty creating online courses who have the opportunity to coach students on how to succeed in the online learning environment.


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