UNDERSTANDING ONLINE STUDENT SUCCESS THROUGH THE USE OF ASTIN’S IEO MODEL
Open Access
- Author:
- Kuhn, Maeghen Leigh MacDonald
- Graduate Program:
- Higher Education
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- March 03, 2017
- Committee Members:
- David Guthrie, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
David Guthrie, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Karen Paulson, Committee Member
Adnan Qayyum, Committee Member
Craig Weidemann, Outside Member - Keywords:
- online education
online learning
online students
student success
alexander astin
IEO Model
student satisfaction
student preferences
online pedagogy
penn state world campus
student survey
distance education
online student satisfaction
online student preferences - Abstract:
- This study will survey undergraduate students who pursue higher education exclusively online and are enrolled at a large public research university that is recognized for providing superior online education, Penn State University World Campus. The survey asked students to self-report demographic information, academic and employment history, and learning preferences. The study provides a profile of students categorized by their self-identified inputs (e.g. female, married, 35 years old) aligned with preferred environmental factors that result in success. Success in this study is defined as a 3.0 grade point average or above in student’s online courses overall. Correlations of environmental factors and inputs that lead to a “non-success” are also be highlighted. Non-success is defined as a below a 2.0 grade point average in online courses overall. This study provides a more detailed view of current online students and how their personal characteristics interact with learning environments with their success in mind. This study is the first of its kind in online education and provides rich data on demographics, preferences, and practices of today’s online students. The results challenge traditional thinking, contradict previous studies of online students, and bring a set of recommendations for both researchers and practitioners within the field. Primary Study Endpoints • To evaluate the variability of demographics within the subpopulation of undergraduate online students • To evaluate the variability of demographics amongst levels of academic achievement of undergraduate online students • To evaluate the variability of demographics amongst levels of student satisfaction of undergraduate online students Secondary Study Endpoints • To evaluate the level of satisfaction within online learning • To evaluate the preferred methods of instruction within online learning • To evaluate the preferred level of interaction within online learning