WHO IS THE ONLINE STUDENT? Barbara Truman-Davis Director, Course Development & Web Services Dale Voorhees Coordinator, Course Development Barbara Truman-Davis Director, Course Development & Web Services Dale Voorhees Coordinator, Course Development The University of Central Florida

The University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida

Scope of UCF’s Online Program Half (500) of all full-time faculty engaged Half (250) of these trained through IDL6543 1,000+ WebCT courses 800+ courses built with production support Six fully online programs, three graduate certificates

Current Online Degrees B.A. and B.S. in Liberal Studies B.S. in Voc. Ed. and Industry Training R.N. to B.S.N. Nursing A.A.-A.S. to B.S. in Health Services Administration M.A. and M.S. in Vocational Education M.A. in Educational Media M.S. in Forensic Science (partially online)

Institutional Support for Distributed Learning Course Development & Web Services: dedicated to online class support Center for Distributed Learning –marketing –long-range planning –registration –faculty training Office of Instructional Resources –ITV network

W eb-based courses: Delivered entirely over the Web, with no regular class meetings M ixed-mode courses: Delivered partially in classroom and partially over the Web (“reduced seat time”) E nhanced courses: Web presence UCF Online Delivery Models

Online Sections (All Modes)

Online Students (All Modes)

Internet tools Browser test Tutorials Assessment UCF information Connection to campus network Student Support CD-ROM

Distributed Learning Impact Assessment Learning styles Success rates Attitudes Demographics Withdrawal rates Strategies for success Students Critical thinking Effective instructional tools Quasi-experiments Faculty Accreditation Real time surveys Assessment techniques Personal theorizing

What We Have Found Regarding Online Students The majority of students enrolled in fully online (W) courses are also enrolled in F2F courses The distribution of students by ethnicity is approximately the same for all modalities Fully online (W) courses consistently have more females than other modalities On the average, students enrolled in W courses are oldest, followed by those in M sections then face-to-face

Success Rates of Fully Online and Mixed-mode Courses From Fall 1997 Through Spring 2000 Fall 97 Spr 98 Sum 98 Fall 98 Spr 99 Sum 99 Fully online Mixed-mode Face-to-face Fall 99 Spr Total N=52,218 students

Withdrawal Rates of Fully Online and Mixed-mode Courses From Fall 1997 Through Spring 2000 Fully online Mixed-mode Face-to-face Fall 97 Spr 98 Sum 98 Fall 98 Spr 99 Sum 99 Fall 99 Spr Total N=52,218 students

Percentage of Undergraduate and Graduate Students in Online Courses -- Spring ‘99 79% 72% 21% 18% GraduateUndergraduate Fully online (n=1,148) Mixed-mode (n=2,283)

Gender of Students Enrolled Differing Modalities and UCF Overall -- Spring ‘99 Mixed- mode sections N=2,283 Fully online sections N=1,148 Face-to-face sections N=4,743 57% 43% 73% 27% 56% 44% 55% 45% UCF overall N=30,009

Student Ages -- Spring ‘99 Face-to-face N=4,743 Media-enhanced N=2,283 Fully-online N=1,148 Mean=24 SD=6.9 Mean=26 SD=8.4 Mean=30 SD=9.3 Percentiles Age Type of class

Employment Status Reported by Students 51% 33% 16% Full timePart timeDo not work 42% 37% 21% Fully online (n=341) Mixed-mode (n=181)

Reported Location of Student Computers 88% 22% 20% 6% At homeAt campusAt jobOther 81% 51% 13% 3% Fully online (n=341) Mixed-mode (n=181)

Drive Time to UCF Campus Reported by Students 24% 17% 31% 17% 11% < Minutes 24% 21% 35% 16% 2% Fully online (n=341) Media-enhanced (n=181)

Reasons Given by Students for Enrolling in Fully Online and Mixed-Mode Courses 79% 44% 22% 19% 20% Convenience Try it Instructor Schedule conflicts Only available Other 20% 16% 14% 43% 34% Fully online (n=341) Mixed-mode (n=181)

Reported Student Satisfaction With Online Courses 3% 5% 7% 31% 54% Very unsatisfied UnsatisfiedNeutralSatisfiedVery satisfied 3% 7% 12% 43% 34% Fully online (n=341) Mixed-mode (n=181)

Student Attitudes Toward Taking Another Online Course Spring ‘99 (N=341) 2% 4% 5% 19% Definitely not Probably not Not sureProbablyDefinitely 2% 4% 8% 43% 70% 43% Fully online (n=341) Media-enhanced (n=181)

The Transition of Student Affect Regarding Online Courses UCF is responding to my needs I am more active in my learning I feel personally empowered My learning is more convenient My learning is self-paced …then (1998)…and now (2000)

Advice Students Would Give to Others Considering an Online Course Keep up and don’t procrastinate Attend the orientation Be disciplined Develop your computer skills Ask for help Keep in touch with the professor Check the forum daily

A Summary of Long Behavior Types Aggressive Independent –high energy –action-oriented –not concerned with approval –speaks out freely –gets into confrontational situations Passive Independent –low energy –not concerned with approval –prefers to work alone –resists pressure from authority Aggressive Dependent –high energy –action-oriented –concerned with approval –rarely expresses negative feelings –performs at or above ability Passive Dependent –low energy –concerned with approval –highly sensitive to the feelings of others –very compliant

Distribution of Long Types and Traits for Online Students AI 23% PI 17% AD 53% PD 7% 40% 73% 21% 33% (n=342)

Distribution of Long Types and Traits for CHM 1020 AI 27% PI 18% AD 37% PD 19% (n=133) 31% 60% 22% 55%

Student Reasons for Withdrawing From Fully Online Courses Technology issues Web stuff confusing Personal conflicts Lack of class organization Too much work/ time (N=52) 25% 23% 8% 6% Instructor issues Other

Student Benefits Cited by Online Faculty Improved learning flexibility Improved student interaction and feedback Technology as a learning resource Enhanced student responsibility Convenience

UCF Distributed Learning Impact Evaluation Website

Additional Contacts at the University of Central Florida Chuck Dziuban, Ph.D. University of Central Florida Distributed Learning Impact Evaluation P.O. Box Orlando, FL Patsy D. Moskal, Ed.D. University of Central Florida Distributed Learning Impact Evaluation P.O. Box Orlando, FL Steve Sorg, Ph.D. University of Central Florida Center for Distributed Learning Research Parkway, Suite 264 Orlando, FL For information regarding UCF’s Distributed Learning Impact Evaluation: For information regarding UCF’s institutional approach to distributed learning: