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Online programs have traditionally had significant issues with student retention. Some, but not all of the retention issues faced are a function of faculty lacking skills to teach in an online environment. This paper first reviews literature pertaining to factors that positively and negatively impact student retention. Based on the instructional factors that are shown to have the most positive impact on retention, this paper develops and demonstrates best practices that can be utilized in the online classroom by instructors to assure that students engaged in the course are more than likely to remain part of their respective program.
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Online learning has over the past several years grown at a rate that significantly outpaces that of traditional programs. According to Allen and Seaman (2010), online education was growing at a rate of approximately 21%. Overall, 5.6 million students have taken at least one online course throughout their college career (Allen and Seaman, 2010). Online education since 2010 has been forecasted to grow at a steady rate as a result of the economic downturn, but has of recent begun significant change and leveling off of growth. As online education has grown, it has faced significant challenges. These challenges involve retention rates, as well as debated quality issues with the education delivered and acceptance by many employers (Haynie 2015). The online market has become saturated in many disciplines, and this saturation started with the emergence of the-for profit institution and an open admission model to maximize tuition revenue. The for profit model was crucial in the development of online education despite many of the reported issues of quality and acceptance, as many of the most effective technologies and models used in programs today originated from for profit programs. Many traditional programs have emerged in the market and are entering revenue sharing arrangements with large for profit companies to manage and develop their programs as tight budgets make it impossible for schools to invest in the infrastructure necessary to launch a successful online program (Friedman and Friedman, 2011). There has been significant harm to the image of online education due to low retention rates often tied to underprepared students admitted through questionable recruitment practices and open admission policies with an exclusive focus on...