For the latest free CDE seminar we were very pleased to welcome Jon Bellum, Provost and Senior Vice-President at Colorado State University-Global Campus, to Senate House to talk about a case study for retention in online learning. Colorado State University-Global Campus is a 100% online public institution focused on providing adults with career-relevant bachelor’s and master’s degrees. A university wide retention and persistence program was designed to provide its non-traditional students with the support they needed throughout the student lifecycle. Since implementing this process improvement, CSU-Global has been able to maintain first-to-third term retention rates that exceed 80% and a four-year retention/graduation rate that exceeds 75%. The presentation ran through the processes involved in implementing this programme and reviewed the outcomes. The slides and seminar is of interest to anyone involved in developing courses for online or flexible delivery – audio for the session can be found at www.cde.london.ac.uk.

1. Enhancing student retention for
distance learners
Presentation to University of London Centre for Distance
Education
Dr. Jon Bellum, Provost & Senior Vice President

2. Live Locally, Learn Globally
Located in
Denver, Colorado -
the “Mile High” city

3. Colorado State University-Global Campus
• The first and only statutorily-defined 100% online, public
university in the U.S. with independent, regional
accreditation
• A public institution that does not receive public funds
• Created in 2007 - enrolled first students in 2008 to help
the Colorado Paradox
• Adult-student focused; learning outcomes focus on theory,
knowledge, and skills to secure employment and improve
job performance.
• Fixed, low tuition rate throughout a student’s degree
program with no student fees - $350 undergrad; $500 grad

4. CSU-Global Academic Excellence
• 8 week accelerated courses
• Courses start every month; every course offered every
term
• Fully online, asynchronous, faculty led
• 85% of faculty have terminal degree
• The university provides 24x7 live tutoring, tech support,
and library access
• Bachelor degree graduates score in the top 76% on
national assessments for writing, critical thinking, and
math

5. Colorado State University-Global Campus
• At the undergraduate level – currently focused on degree
completion (41 million Americans with some college and
no degree)
• Ranked #16 for Best Online Bachelor Degree Programs by
U.S. World & News Report in January 2014
• Twenty-seven degree programs – bachelor’s and master’s
– 15 undergraduate
– 12 graduate
• Asynchronous – anytime, anywhere
– Recorded live lectures
• Over 500 part-time faculty
• 85% of faculty have terminal degrees

6. Student Demographics
• Adult, non-traditional students
• Currently 12,000 active students
• 50/50 male/female
• Average student age – 35 years (92% are > 25)
– Standard Deviation = 7 years
• 25 percent are the first in their family to attend a higher
education institution (first generation)
• 24 percent are from under represented minorities
• Students from all 50 states and 16 foreign countries
• 70% Undergraduate; 30% Graduate

7. CSU-Global P-3 Instructional Model
• Purposeful
– Program learning outcomes aligned with industry needs
– All course content aligned with course and program outcomes
– Systemic learning environment
• Participatory
– Recorded live lectures
– Interactive content
– Rich weekly discussion
• Project Based
– All assignments are based on real-world issues
– Students can choose between two assignments
– We want students to solve their own workplace challenges

8. Assessment of Student Learning
• Starts with program learning outcomes
• Every course assignment is linked to at least one program
learning outcome
• Data are collected through assessment rubrics in every
class using Waypoint Outcomes
• Assessment data are analyzed and reviewed by faculty
every six months with a program review at the end of the
academic year
• Students receive marked up feedback and a row-by-row
rubric review

9. CSU-Global Strategy
Nontraditional education provider for nontraditional,
workplace-focused students
• Provide all types of education to meet the needs of
nontraditional students around the world.
• Provide students with maximum flexibility and learning
options that produce tangible workplace outcomes.
• Ensure the highest academic quality to optimize the brand’s
marketability.
• Leverage CSU-Global abilities and alliances for highly
collaborative partnerships that produce multiple win-win
scenarios.

10. Other Operations
• Corporate training
– Off the shelf
– Customized
– Credit/Non-credit
• Outsourcing
– Curriculum
– Faculty
– Platform
– Services

11. Retention Strategies at CSU-Global

12. Understanding Retention – Official Data
Official U.S. Department of Education measures of retention
are limited and only focus on first-time freshman cohorts:
• U.S. Data - First to second year retention (2005 cohort)
– Two year public institutions: 59%
– Four year public institutions: 62%
• U.S. Data Six-year graduation rate (2005 cohort)
– Two year public institutions: 20%
– Four year public institutions: 57%
www.collegenavigator.gov

13. Why CSU-Global students “stop out”
• Not cognitively prepared for the program of study
– Not all students can meet performance requirements
• Not enough time or poor time management
– Family, work, external commitments
• Not enough money or poor financial management
– Not eligible for loans, underestimate cost, employer stops paying,
unexpected crisis
• Lack of motivation or interest
– Not returning to school for the right reasons
– Education can be a long road, difficulty in persistence

14. Six-Year Graduation – 2005 Cohort

15. Measuring Retention at CSU-Global
CSU-Global does not admit first-time freshman, therefore we
do not have ‘official’ retention data
• Two key measures of retention at CSU-Global
– Initial retention – First-to-Third Term
– Longitudinal – Cohort retention by year
• The majority (15-20%) of students stop out within the first
three terms (24 weeks)
• After the third term, attrition is 1-2 percent a year

16. First to Third Term Retention
• Students who have taken courses in at least two terms
within 24 weeks of beginning courses (updated every four
weeks)
• Data are front and center on the staff portal
Level Students Retention Rate
Undergraduate 8,235 79%
Graduate 2,885 83%
Total 11,710 80%

17. Four Year Cohort Retention – 2009 & 2010
• Percent of students who have graduate or are still enrolled.
Year Graduated Still Enrolled Total
2010 46% 27% 73%
2009 28% 37% 65%

18. The Retention Process - Team Work
• Starts with the mission – one focus, to help adult, non-traditional
students complete their degrees – very liberal
admission policies
• Enrollment
• Transcript Evaluation
• Orientation
• Tuition Planning
• Student and Financial Advising
• Academic Support

19. Enrollment – Finding the right match
• Currently adding 600+ new students each month
• Highly structure process for determining match and
admitting students
• Purpose of enrollment process is to determine MAPS
– Motivation
– Admissibility
– Payment
– Start Date
• CSU-Global has very liberal admission policies

20. Transcript Evaluation
• Currently, all undergraduate students come to CSU-Global
in transfer
• Average number of transfer credits is 55 (degree program
is 120 semester credits)
• Students transfer credit from community colleges, four-year
institutions, and trade schools
• Also will transfer Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) including
American Council on Education reviewed credit – military,
corporate, CLEP, DSST, Advanced Placement, and
International Baccalaureate
• Limited transfer at the graduate

21. Orientation
Students are required to complete an orientation and
assessment
• Orientation is self-paced
• Student Support Advisor confirms the student has
completed the Orientation via the final assessment
• First course in the undergraduate and graduate
programs include onboarding content that covers the
learning environment and writing expectations
• General education courses include additional support
for writing and mathematics

22. Orientation

23. Student Support & Tuition Planning
Helping students manage the financial cost of their
education
• Degree plan with full cost of their education
• Review of payment options and maximum loan
eligibility
• Support for alternative credit

24. Student and Financial Advising
Proactive and reactive advising
• Students will have a specific advisor throughout their
course of study
• Advisors reach out to students if they haven’t been
active in class for 7 days; students receive periodic
emails
• Advisors are accessible 12 hours a day via phone, chat,
and email
• Faculty Career Coaches are available to meet with
students and applicants to discuss deeper academic
questions

25. Academic Support for Students at Risk
• Meet with a success advisor to complete an
academic plan
– Identify issues that contributed to poor performance
– Develop strategies to overcome issues
• Currently Approximately 30% of at risk students
move back to active status
• Prior to the creation of the academic success
department there was a 15% movement to active
status

26. Retention is about People

27. Success after Graduation
• 96% Percentage of students who say their program contributed
to their professional goals.
• 35% Percentage of students who
• secured a better job.
• 27% Percentage of students who
• secured a job in a new field
• 87% Percentage of students who would
• encourage a friend or family member to attend CSU-Global.
• 38% Percentage of students who
• received a promotion.
• 20% pay increase reported 12 months after graduation. (Fall
2013)

28. Questions?
Enhancing student retention for
distance learners
Dr. Jon Bellum, Provost & Senior Vice President
Jon.Bellum@csuglobal.edu`