This document discusses strategies for increasing student success in online courses. It describes a project at SUNY community colleges that identified key risk factors for student persistence and retention in online courses. These include late registration, poor advising, student demographics, course engagement and design, and being a first-time online student. The document then focuses on an introductory web technology course that saw completion rates increase after implementing strategies to increase the instructor's teaching presence through tools like video introductions, discussion feedback, and reminders. These strategies engaged students more in the online course community.

1. Strategies for
Increasing Student
Success in Online
Courses
Lisa Dubuc, M.S. ED
Director of Electronic Learning/Digital Media Instructor
Niagara County Community College
dubuc@niagaracc.suny.edu
716-614-6798
@ldubuc

2. A bit about me....
• NCCC –Director of Online Learning /Instructional Designer
12 years
• Co-created over 130 online courses
• Co-created over 30 blended courses
• Teaching online for 10 years (undergraduate/graduate)
o Digital Media
o Web 2.0 Technologies
o Multimedia for Educators
o Internet for Educators
o Course Design for Online Instruction
o Authoring for Educators

3. •64 Campuses (serve over 427,000 students)University
Centers (Doctoral Degree Granting)
•University Colleges
•Technology Colleges
•Community Colleges

5. Located in Sanborn, NY
FTE 5000

6. •7 Fully Online Degree Programs
• Support (5500 students/300 faculty)
 Web enhanced 395 sections
 Blended/Hybrid 35 sections
 Fully Online 130 sections
•ANGEL LMS support campus wide

7. SUNY DOODLE
Persistence/Retention Project
Background information
• Data collection - FA08
• Persistence- completing a course within the defined term
• Retention - remaining with the college from one term to
the next.
• D or higher
Directors of Online Distance Learning Environments

8. Risk Factors - identified by DOODLE
 Time of Registration - #1 risk factor
 Poor Advising
 Age
 Engagement and Course Design
 Development Needs
 Gender
 Technical Factors/Business Processes
 First-time e-Learning student
 Previous College Success-GPA
 Learning Styles

9. Introduction to Web Technology
DIG110 Course Risk Factors
• Digital Media Program • Time of Registration - #1 risk
• Required course factor
• Freshman • Poor Advising
• Mostly Male • Age
• First Online Course • Engagement and Course Design
• First College Course • Development Needs
• Varied Learning Styles • Gender
• Think they know the • Technical Factors/Business
Internet/Technology Processes
• First-time e-Learning student
• Previous College Success-GPA
• Learning Styles

10. DIG110 Successful Completion Rates
• FA08-FA10 average 63% successful completion rate (D or higher)
• SP11- Implemented new strategies - 75% successful completion/ FA11 76%
successful completion /SP 12-79%
What Strategies Did I
Implement?

11. Teaching Presence, Class Community
& Active Learning
Increased my Teaching
Presence "An instructor is
perceived as "present" in the
online classroom when "visible"
to the student. (Arbaugh & Hwang, 2006;
Nippard & Murphy, 2007; Russo & Benson, 2005;
Shea et al., 2006
The Importance of Teaching Presence in
an Online Classroom
http://bit.ly/MM6Gbj
Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000).
Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer
conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher
Education, 2(2-3), 87-105. pdf Full Text

12. SP 11 Strategies Implemented
• Orientation Video/Intro to Modules/project feedback - Jing
• Course Introductions-VoiceThread
• Due Date reminders - ANGEL course mail/who dun it reports
• Discussion feedback - Audio files with AudioBoo
• Softchalk- changed my content presentation (DIG110 example)
• Course Reflection Journal - Blog (share with future students)
DIG110 Examples
• DIG110 Facebook group - increased interaction
• Text my students – using Remind101 (free for educators)

14. Resources

16. Lisa Dubuc, M.S. ED
Director of Electronic Learning/Digital Media
Instructor
Niagara County Community College
dubuc@niagaracc.suny.edu
716-614-6798
@ldubuc
Blog- http://ncccelearning.wordpress.com