Higher education is currently facing challenges due to the growth and development of online universities. Database of Online Education published a list of recognized online colleges based on graduation rates and student retention rates.
In the United States, 29 colleges are providing an online education, the mean retention rate among the colleges is 57.41% with S.D ± 23.24, the maximum value of retention rate is 100%. In contrast, the minimum retention rate is 4%, the mean graduation rate among the colleges is 41.76% (round off) with S.D ± 9.87 (round off), and the maximum value of the graduation rate is 61%. In contrast, the minimum graduation rate is 25%.
Regression analysis showed the significant cause and impact of the percentage of retention on the graduation volume of the students. The p-value of retention rate with graduation rate is 0.000, which shows a significant relationship or impact of retention rate on the graduation rate. The value of R shows that there is a 67% correlation observed between the retention rate of students and their graduation rate. R square in the data shows that 44% of the data is close to the linear regression line. It shows the rate of the strength of association between the two variables. The adjusted value of 42.9% shows that there are additional extraneous predictors in the regression model of the study. For each change of one unit in retention rate, the average change in the mean graduation rate is 0.67 units. All values indicated a noteworthy impact of the retention rate on the graduation rate.
The regression analysis demonstrates that there is a significant positive linear relationship found between the retention rate of the students and their graduation rate. The graduation rate of US students in online educational institutions increases as the retention rate of the students increase. However, the presence of other important factors is identified that may affect the graduation rate of the students. Online educational programs are increasing rapidly; hence, the concern over student retention is also increasing. Online institutions are developing effective models to understand student persistence in the current environment, but traditional educational institutes provide more facilities, technologies, and systems.
The linear regression shows that the impact of retention rate is obvious and positively significant. It means that the regression equation has provided a good fit. However, the data shows that is around 44% scattered around the regression line. It means that there may be some other possible factors related to the online colleges and students that cause an impact on the graduation rate of the colleges.
According to the Database of Online Education, the student retention rate at South University is 51%, and its graduation rate is 25%. The university must consider the possible factors causing a reduction in student performance. Since more than half of students are staying enrolled in the university but only a quarter of them are graduating, this situation may cause the university concern.
The student retention rate at the University of Phoenix is 4%, while the graduation rate is 28%, according to the Database of Online Education. The president of the university must consider the fact that despite poor retention rate results, the graduation rate has increased to 28%. The analysis indicates that the university should identify possible factors causing the increase in student graduation rate and take effective measures to increase student retention.
After the complete analysis of the data collected from the Database of Online Colleges, it is suggested that issues must be highlighted by online institutes to attain maximize graduation rate of the students. Measures must be taken to make the system cost-effective with efficient practices. Establishing effective practices ensures sustainable online learning environments.
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