Loredana Werth, PhD Assistant Professor – Northwest Nazarene University Eric Werth, EdD Faculty – University of Phoenix The Challenge & Opportunities of Advising and Retaining Distance Education Students

Online enrollments continue to increase substantially, as nearly one third (30%) of higher education students take at least one online course Increase in demand is greater for online courses than for the corresponding face-to-face (f2f) courses Source: Allen & Seaman (2010) Status of Distance Education

Online learning is perceived positively by nearly two-thirds (66%) of academic leaders who view online learning outcomes as superior to, somewhat superior to, or the same as comparable f2f courses 63% of all reporting institutions noted that online learning was a critical part of their institution’s long term strategy and strategic plan Source: Allen & Seaman (2010) Status of Distance Education

Source: Online Education in the United States, 2010Online Education in the United States, 2010

Status of Distance Education August 28, 2011 PEW Institute Report

Status of Distance Education August 28, 2011 PEW Institute Report

Who are distance learners? Daniel Flynn Student living in Bucharest, Romania and taking online classes in Boise, Idaho

Online Students Are generally older Have more academic experience Have completed more college credit hours Have completed more degree programs Have a higher college GPA Have stronger independent learning style Are more likely to have job and/or childcare responsibilities

Online Students “One who could be self-disciplined. Because it is something where you have to physically remind yourself. It is not like reminding yourself to go to class and be in class for an hour. It is all you. The online environment is up to you to succeed or not to succeed. When you log in, you decide to do your homework. You need to be the type of person to want to get things done. You need to sit down and do your work instead of letting the TV show or a football game interfere. A desire as well. I think that is the biggest thing is the desire. If you have the desire to do it, the true “I want to do this,” it can be a piece of cake.” - Maria “One who could be self-disciplined. Because it is something where you have to physically remind yourself. It is not like reminding yourself to go to class and be in class for an hour. It is all you. The online environment is up to you to succeed or not to succeed. When you log in, you decide to do your homework. You need to be the type of person to want to get things done. You need to sit down and do your work instead of letting the TV show or a football game interfere. A desire as well. I think that is the biggest thing is the desire. If you have the desire to do it, the true “I want to do this,” it can be a piece of cake.” - Maria

Opportunities Key considerations in offering distance education programs are directly linked to institutional student service support systems, such as advising, registration, orientation, and learning resources such as library and tutorial services.

Opportunity for Advisors “Advisors contacted me regularly about register and support services such as the library and writing center.” -Catarina

Challenges Life circumstances (work, dependents, birth, death, etc.) Lack of motivation Missing support system or accountability partner Needs help in developing self-directed learner skills Collaborative work regularly required in online courses (ie. group work)

Challenges “The lack of really personal experience with the professors and actually listening to lectures and getting the information in more than one way because there, it was just read this and for people that aren’t that type of learner, you only have that one type of education. If you are a visual or an audio learner, then you have nothing or hands-on there is actually nothing there.” - Tammy “The lack of really personal experience with the professors and actually listening to lectures and getting the information in more than one way because there, it was just read this and for people that aren’t that type of learner, you only have that one type of education. If you are a visual or an audio learner, then you have nothing or hands-on there is actually nothing there.” - Tammy

Challenges “I was concerned and did not know for certain that a degree out of there was going to be respected, appreciated, and considered. I just was not sure it was going to get me where I wanted to be in the end.” - Maria “I was concerned and did not know for certain that a degree out of there was going to be respected, appreciated, and considered. I just was not sure it was going to get me where I wanted to be in the end.” - Maria

Advising Distance Learners 1.Clear goals and expectations for learners 2.Multiple representations of course content 3.Frequent opportunities for active learning 4.Frequent constructive feedback 5.Flexibility and choice in satisfying course objectives 6.Instructor guidance and support

Resources related to Distance Education NACADA’s Distance and Online Advising Resources August 28, 2011 PEW Institute Report Online Education in the United States, 2010 WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies Department of Education Report, 2009

Thank you Loredana Werth, PhD Assistant Professor – Northwest Nazarene University Eric Werth, EdD Faculty – University of Phoenix