Publish at April 09 2013 Updated May 21 2025
The perseverance of distance learning students is a subject that has preoccupied e-learning designers and facilitators for many years. When you're alone in front of your computer, miles away from your educational institution, it's not easy to muster the self-discipline needed to study the content, complete the exercises and then sit the exams. How can we make it easier for students?
On the Teachning Professor Blog hosted by the online journal Faculty Focus, Maryellen Welmer reports on a cross-sectional study carried out by Carolyn Hart, who analyzed some twenty articles published since 1999 to identify the factors behind online students' perseverance. Six factors were cited as the most significant:
- The quality of online teaching. This is the main factor. 90% of students who graduated from an online course said they were satisfied with the content and activities, compared with only 20% of those who dropped out early.
- The feeling of belonging to a learning community. Students who are able to participate in online discussions and work with peers they will never meet are far more likely to complete their course than those who are unable to do so.
- Motivation. You'd think! Students with a clear goal will show greater determination than those without. In other words, you're unlikely to succeed in e-learning if you've signed up just to pass the time.
- Peer and family support. Essential, as it provides the distance learner with the peace of mind that helps him or her focus on learning.
- Good time management. Learners who are used to concentrating on time-consuming tasks such as homework or reading are more likely to succeed than those who interrupt themselves frequently.
- Good communication with the teacher or tutor. It's up to the teacher or tutor to be prompt, provide good feedback and show a willingness to solve the problems faced by the learner.
These factors are generally well known. Nevertheless, they need to be periodically reiterated, as they help to assess a learner's ability to follow an e-learning course... and a teacher's ability to be a good distance instructor.
At a time when massive online training is being rolled out on a massive scale, Mooc designers and anyone else tempted by the idea of taking part should take note of these criteria. On the blog of Onlinecollegecourses.com, a search engine for online courses in the United States, there's an article entitled"How to Finish a MOOC", which also sets out a number of key success factors very similar to those identified by Carolyn Hart for online training in general. Because, as we too often forget, a Mooc is an online training modality... and is perhaps above all that.
As we know, Moocs are characterized by very low retention rates. On average, less than 10% of registrants obtain the certificate attesting to their attendance and success in the tests. This is not a problem for those who see Moocs as advertising objects for their institutions, whose main mission is to attract new students to conventional, fee-paying courses. But it does raise real questions when it comes to the claim that Moocs provide quality higher education for all. What, then, is a "quality higher education" in which you have a 9 out of 10 chance of failing? A mirage.
The article on Onlinecollegecourses.com identifies four key success factors, all of which are the responsibility of the participant:
This last factor is not the only one, as it encompasses all the others. So, once again, knowing how to manage time and space, and how to work with distant peers, are at the heart of the skills required for the successful online learner.
A growing number of "traditional" online training courses (i.e. those involving a limited number of students regularly enrolled at the training institution) feature elements that make life easier for remote learners and greatly improve their perseverance and chances of success. These include pedagogical scripting, compulsory group work and tutoring. Moocs are not yet as sophisticated. But let's not forget that they are a work in progress: feedback from the first cohorts of participants improves the experience of those who follow, as course devices are modified. Already, the Coursera team has announced improvements to the platform that will facilitate interaction between peers and with course assistants.
LINKS :
Wellmer M.: Students Persistence in Online Courses: Understanding the Key Factors. The Teaching Professor Blog, Faculty Focus, March 27, 2013.
How to Finish a MOOC. onlinecollegecourses.com, March 22, 2013.
Uncovering MOOC Completion: A Comparative Study of Completion Rates from
Different Perspectives - Berkan Celik - Kursat Cagiltay - 2024
https://openpraxis.org/articles/10.55982/openpraxis.16.3.606
Illustration: Suzanne Tucker, Shutterstock.com
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