Predictors of Interest in DL Courses Texas Association of Institutional Research (TAIR) 30 th Annual Conference February 6, 2008 Lone Star College – Cy-Fair W. Clay McFaden, Patti Franklin, and Joe Schlichting

Hypothesis  What is most important regarding Distance Learning (DL) courses is “convenience” –Women with children at home  The traditional course with in-class lecture does not work well for women who have small children Finding day care is inconvenient and may even be too costly if it is not provided by the community college –Full-Time workers  Full-time workers have the option of taking night courses, but night courses extend the “work” day, and it is inconvenient to go from work to school and then home

Anecdotal Evidence  Who takes DL courses (in Government)? –Personal Introductions – At the beginning of the semester, I ask my students to introduce themselves.  I do not solicit any specific information, but students often offer information about their career goals and family –Noticeable patterns from student testimonials:  Women -- In 11 DL courses (Fall 2005 to Fall 2007), 75% of my students have been women  Mothers – More mothers than fathers have taken my courses  Aspiring Nurses – A notable number aspire to be nurses  Full-Time Workers – A notable number have full-time jobs

A Few Anecdotes  Testimonials – Summer 2007 –Student #1 thru #12 testimonials taken from Summer 2007 course in Government –Women with Children  Student #1: “I am a mother to my beautiful, rambunctious ‘almost-two-year-old’, so with my platter full, online classes have been amazing for me.”  Student #2: “I believe this is my 8th on line class I have taken. I have not decided what career I would enjoy after my children has [sic] gain independence. So, in the meantime I will enjoy my children’s laughs and continue learn [sic].”  Student #3: “My kids like that I am at home during the summer so online classes provided me with the opportunity to do just that.”

A Few Anecdotes  Testimonials – Summer 2007 (continued) –Women with Children  Student #4: “I am a stay at home mom. I love taking classes on line because my baby girl who is now 5 months old and my 4yr. old son keep me very busy.” –Mothers who work Full-Time  Student #5: “I too work full time and am a single mom, so these online classes have been a tremendous help in achieving goals.”  Student #6: “I have two children…I work full time…as a Pharmacy technician making Chemotherapy IV's.”  Student #7: “I have been a bus driver for 13 years, and a teachers aid for 5 years. I have two handsome sons and have been married for 22 years. My youngest son will graduate next year.”

A Few Anecdotes  Testimonials – Summer 2007 (continued) –Students who Work Full-Time  Student #8: “I have been working as a full time employee…as an IT E2E Consultant for the past three years..”  Student #9: “I work full time…as a Transaction Control Analyst.”  Student #10: “I work full-time and am a part-time student (sometimes a full-time student).”  Student #11: “I work anywhere from hours a week and go to school so it's a little easier on me to take online classes.”  Student #12: “I'm a full time employee at a gas turbine engine building business and a full time student.”

A Few Anecdotes  Testimonials – Fall 2007 –Students who aspire to be nurses  Student #1: “I will be applying to the nursing program at Texas Women's and UT in the med center. Wish me luck! They are hard programs to get into.”  Student #2: “I will apply to UT and TX Women's Nursing program as well. Although, my long term goal is to become a CRNA.”  Student #3: “I am currently a Registered Nurse and work in Trauma SICU. I'm working my way towards my Advanced Practice Nursing degree (Nurse Practitioner).”

The Dataset  Cy-Fair College (CFC) Student Opinion Survey –Biennial Survey – 2006 survey used in this study  classes were surveyed, classes randomly chosen from approximately 1400 sections taught  1165 students completed survey (65% response rate) –About 70% to 80% of questions are borrowed from the ACT Corporation – Faces of the Future Survey, a survey specifically designed for community colleges

The (Statistical) Model Design  Dependent Variables –Interest in DL courses  Ordered Variable: 1 = not interested at all, 2 = not interested, 3 = somewhat interested, 4 = interested, 5= very interested  Dummy Variable #1: 1 = very interested; 0 = all others  Dummy Variable #2: 1 = interested or very interested, 0 = all others  Independent Variables –In addition to my test variables (women, aspiring nurses, mothers, full-time workers), I chose other variables that may also determine why one might be interested in taking DL courses

The (Statistical) Model Design  Independent Variables (continued)  Demographics: race, age, gender, family income  Course Load: 1 to 17 course hours  Who Pays for School: Self, Spouse, Parents, Financial Aid, Employer – ranges from 1( not a source) to 4 (a major source))  Full-Time Work: 0 to 50+ hours per week  Internet Usage: ranges from 1 (no use) to 6 (daily use)  Problems: no transportation, no day care (for mothers) – ranges from 1 (not a problem) to 4 (major problem)  Desired Academic Field: education, engineering, accounting, computer science, biology, business administration, pre-law, nursing  Mothers: 1) Children 0 to 2 years old, 2) Children 3 to 5 years old (also 0 to 5 years old), 3) Children 6 to 17 years old (also 0 to 17 years old)

Most Significant Predictors  Statistically, the most consistent and significant predictors of interest in DL courses are ranked as follows: 1)Problems with transportation to school – those without reliable transportation show interest in DL 2)Hours worked – The more hours one works, the more interest in DL 3)Frequency of internet use – those who use the internet daily are most interested in DL 4)Family income – higher income more interest 5)Women – Women are more interested than men in DL 6)Asians – Asians show significantly more interest in DL than any other race

Most Significant Predictors  Other variables are significant in some cases: 1)Aspiring career as a Nurse – Of all Cy-Fair College students, the 2 nd highest number aspire to be nurses 2)Aspiring career in Business Administration – Of all Cy-Fair College students, the highest number aspire to major in business administration 3)Financial Aid – Students who rely mostly on financial aid to pay for school are less likely to be very interested in DL courses 4)Mother – Mothers with children 3 to 5 years old are marginally more interested in DL than women who are not mothers or women who have children of other ages 5)Aspiring Educators – Students who aspire to be educators are marginally more interested in DL in one analysis than those who hope to major in other fields 6)Self-Funded – Students who pay for most of their college expenses on their own have less interest in DL courses than students who are funded by other means

Most Substantive Predictors  Substantively, the most consistent predictors of interest in DL courses over 3 separate analyses rank as follows: 1.Frequency of Internet Use – Students who use the internet on a daily basis are 120% to 143% more likely to have interest in DL courses than those who never use the internet 2.Problems with Transportation – Students who have issues with transportation are 52% to 62% more likely to have interest in DL courses than those with no problems with transportation 3.Aspiring career in Business Administration – Students who want to major in business administration are 37% to 39% more likely to have interest in DL courses than those who wish to major in another field 4.Self-Funded – Students who pay for most of the expenses of their education are 26% to 27% less likely to have interest in DL courses than those who are pay for college by other means

Most Substantive Predictors  Other substantive predictors (though not necessarily consistent predictors over 3 separate analyses): 1.Mothers – Mothers with children between 3 and 5 years of age are 28% to 91% more likely to have interest in DL courses than mothers with children of other ages or women with no children 2.Asians – Asians are 18% to 87% more likely to have interest in DL than other races and ethnicities 3.Hours Worked – Students who work 50+ hours per week are 50% to 79% more likely to have interest in DL than those who work 10 hours per week or less 4.Family Income – Students whose families earn $100K or more are 32% to 78% more likely to have interest in DL courses than those whose families earn less than $10K 5.Aspiring Nurses – Those who aspire to be nurses are 27% to 56% more likely to have interest in DL courses than those who want to major in other fields 6.Women – Women are 28% to 55% more likely to have interest in DL courses than men

Statistical Results

Substantive Results