According to Moore and Kearsley (1996), "the single most important variable [among students who succeeded with distance learning] was the students' intention to complete" (p. 161). This finding is reasonable, given that most distance learning students have enrolled in such courses voluntarily (Moore and Kearsley, 1996, p. 159).
Success (completion) or failure (withdrawal or failure to complete) depends on a number of factors, however. Coggins (1989) is cited by Moore and Kearsley (1996, p. 161) as having found that educational level is directly related and length of time since the last formal course is inversely related to success in completing distance learning courses. Since distance learning relies heavily on individual reading and writing, it is reasonable that those who have mastered these skills through former education and who are still highly skilled in these areas would have a greater likelihood of succeeding For example, at DeAnza Community College in California, which offers an extensive list of courses via distance education, students may take a questionnaire online entitled "Are Distance Learning Courses for You?" developed by the Northern Virginia Community College Extended Learning Institute. In explaining several questions on the survey, the College explains, "Distance learning requires you to work from written directions" and "Print materials are the primary source of directions and information in Distance Learning courses (Are distance learning courses for you, n.d.)
Time management and study skills are other areas where the experienced student would have an edge. A series of videotapes developed by Dallas Telecourses for prospective distance learners particularly stresses the important of these two dimensions for success with distance learning (Emerging learner, n.d.).
That distance learners succeed more often when they have been away from formal education for a shorter time seems borne out by studies on regular students as well. In its report entitled The Condition of Education 1997, the U.S. Department of Education reported: "Associate's degree seekers who delayed entry into postsecondary education by at least 1 year were much less likely to complete an associate's or bachelor's degree within 5 years than their counterparts who did not delay" (U.S. Dept. of Education, 1997). One speculates that those who delay education may have assumed other responsibilities that interfere with subsequent attempts at education.
Among other factors affecting student success, according to Billings (1989), is the need for feedback and relief from a sense of isolation. Robert Sweet, in a study of 356 adult students enrolled in university-level courses at The Open Learning Institute (OLI) located in Richmond, British Columbia, using V. Tinto's (1975) model regarding student dropout, found that social variables were more important than the model would have indicated as "direct telephone contact between faculty and students significantly influenced student commitment and persistence" (Sweet, 1986).
Among the attitudinal variables discussed by Billings (1989) is "satisfaction with course/lessons" (cited in Moore & Kearsley, 1996). While satisfaction might arise from a variety of causes, one assumes that an adult learner would find a course satisfying if it were perceived to have had practical value, and if the needs for personal control and problem-solving were met (cf. Knowles, 1978, cited in Moore & Kearsley, 1996, p. 153).
These may appear to be a different set of needs from those of the typical undergraduate. Retention of undergraduate students in general, as noted by Betty Allen in her 1994 Catalyst article, was found by Pascarella and Chapman (1983) to be heavily dependent on "the academic and social integration of students" (Allen, 1994). This social dimension is again emphasized by Pascarella and Tetrazini's finding (1980) that a "strong contribution to student retention appears to be a positive student-faculty relationship."
While the typical undergraduate might need more in the way of social support from the instructor than the typical distance learner, Billings' mention of feedback and isolation and the Sweet report mentioned above indicate that a strong connection with the instructor does play a significant role in distance students' success. Since Knowles (1978) found that attention to the learner's own experience was expected by adult learners (cited in Moore & Kearsley, 1996, p. 154), it might be assumed that the support offered to a distance learner might differ in focus from that offered to the typical undergraduate: general encouragement from the instructor might be less important than attention to the specifics of the distance learner's life experiences and methods for applying his or her learning to immediate life situations.
The D. M. Billings model for completion of correspondence courses (1989) illustrates the complexity and interrelationship of factors leading to success in one mode of distance learning. Billings' findings are useful because he found that information about two variables strongly predicted whether a student would complete the course: whether the student submitted the first lesson within 40 days, and whether the student intended to complete the course within three months (cited in Moore & Kearsley, 1996, p. 160).
These two factors would strongly indicate how a learner might proceed who was working at his or her own pace. With other modes of distance learning - computer conferencing, for example - the timing of student work might be specified by the instructor and the allowable time for completion built into the course design. Submission of the first assignment might not then offer the clear signal that is does with a correspondence course. However, a distance education teacher in a teleconferencing or computer conferencing mode might survey students on the degree of commitment to completion that they have at the outset. This factor, following Billlings' findings, may serve as a predictor of student success and alert the instructor at the start as to which students may need particular attention.
Other specific information which the instructor could have at the outset of the course would be SAT scores, amount of previous college, grade point average, and number of previous distance learning courses already completed. Again, using Billings' study as a basis, these factors could alert the instructor as to which students might need additional help in completing the course.
Environmental variables that Billings notes, such as employment status, employer support, family responsibilities, and family support (cited in Moore & Kearsley, 1996, p. 162) are outside of the instructor's control. However, a survey of students at the start of the course concerning these factors could alert the instructor to students needing particular attention and support.
Knowing the factors that help students persist in distance education courses is most valuable to the teacher, who then can approach the at-risk students directly and offer specific information and encouragement that can help them succeed.
Today, however, I am in the role of student, not teacher. I am, in fact, a typical distance education student: a working adult who is taking this course for professional reasons. I choose to take the course online partly because I want to learn about this mode of course delivery and partly because it permits me to maintain my normal teaching schedule and avoid the drive to and from the ASU campus. Since I live in Tempe and work at 22nd Avenue and Dunlap, I appreciate any method that eliminates further driving during the week.
Several factors are helping me to complete the course. First I have a strong commitment to completing the course. Only once have I dropped courses that I had enrolled in and that was due to unusual personal circumstances that semester. Also, a strong motivator remains the fact that my school will pay for the course if I complete it.
Secondly, I chose this course because DeVry Institute is moving to online delivery of courses (one program includes 30% online delivery today). Since I am an older person with a certain fear of technology, I thought I could kill two birds with one stone: prepare for the future at work and somewhat overcome my dread of using the new media.
Third, I have successfully completed other graduate level courses so I feel comfortable in general with doing research. Researching over the Internet has its frustrations, but I am glad to be learning more about this new tool.
Billings, D. M. (1989). A conceptual model of correspondence course completion. In M.G. Moore, & G. C. Clark (Eds.), Readings in Distance Learning and Instruction, 2. University Park, PA: ACSDE.
Coggins, C. (1989). Preferred learning styles and their impact on completion of external degree programs. In M. G. Moore & G. C. Clark, (Eds.), Readings in Distance Learning and Instruction, 2. University Park, PA: ACSDE.
Knowles, M. (1978). The adult learner. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing.
Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (1996). Distance education. Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Pascarella, E., & Chapman, D. (1983). A multi- institutional, path analytic validation of Tinto's model of college withdrawal. American Educational Research Journal, 20(1), 87-102.
Pascarella, E.T., & Terenzini, P.T. (1980). Predicting freshman persistence and voluntary dropout decisions from a theoretical model. Journal of Higher Education, 51, 60-75.
Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45(1), 89-125.
Online
Allen, B. A. (1994, Summer). The student in higher education: Nontraditional student retention. Catalyst, 23 (3). http://borg.lib.vt.edu/ejounals/CATALYST/v23n3/allen.html
Are distance learning courses for you? (n.d.). DeAnza College, Cupertino, California http://dadistance.fhda.edu/DLCQuestionnaire.html The Emerging learner (n.d.), DeAnza College,
Cupertino, California http://dadistance.fhda.edu/EmergLearner.html
Sweet, Robert. (1986) Student dropout in distance education: An application of Tinto's model. (Abstract). Distance Education An International Journal, .7 (2). http://www.usq.edu.au/dec/DECJourn/v7n286/sweet.htm
United States Department of Education, (1997) The condition of education 1997, indicator 11: Subbaccalaureate persistence and attainment. http://nces.ed.gov/Pubs/ce/c9711a01.html