Student retention in online, open and distance learning

International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning

Student retention in open and distance learning (ODL) is comparatively poor to traditional education and, in some contexts, embarrassingly low. Literature on the subject of student retention in ODL indicates that even when interventions are designed and undertaken to improve student retention, they tend to fall short. Moreover, this area has not been well researched. The main aim of our researc...

Modelling student online behaviour in a virtual learning environment

In recent years, distance education has enjoyed a major boom. Much work at The Open University (OU) has focused on improving retention rates in these modules by providing timely support to students who are at risk of failing the module. In this paper we explore methods for analysing student activity in online virtual learning environment (VLE) – General Unary Hypotheses Automaton (GUHA) and Mar...

Student Retention and Support in Open and Distance Learning

Can an excellent distance learning library service support student retention

Higher Education libraries have traditionally sought to be able to demonstrate the impact their services have on student attainment. This is particularly important in the current economic climate where libraries frequently have to defend their budgets in the face of financial constraints, whilst needing to demonstrate better value for money to students who are now paying more for higher educati...

The social presence theory in distance education; the role of social presence in web-based educational environment

Dear editor-in-chief, The Future of Medical Education Journal The emergence of new theories of learning and education and a paradigm shift from being teacher-centered to student-centered alongside with advancement of novel communication technologies have set the grounds for modern human to use new methods of teaching-learning and free himself of the chains of time and place and keep on learning...