THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

The Lived Experiences of Community College Students

[Name of Student]

Table of Content

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION4

Background4

Statement of the Problem6

Research Purpose9

Research Questions10

Definition of Terms11

Significance of the Study14

Limitations of this Study15

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW16

Distance Education18

Forms of Distance Education Courses18

Table 1: A Comparison of the Types of Instruction (Adapted from Allen & Seaman, 2007)20

Characteristics of Online Students21

Demographic Stratification of Online Learners22

Traditional Online Learners23

Nontraditional Online Learners23

Educational Goal Stratification of Online Learners24

Motivational Stratification of Online Learners26

Online Learning Community Colleges27

Underlying Theories of Student Persistence27

Tinto's Model of Student Integration29

Bean's Model of Retention for Nontraditional Students31

Boyle's Model of Student Retention in the Community College33

Student Persistence Retention Model for e-Learning33

Success Factors for Students Online34

Figure 2: Student Success Model Online Learning. Four bodies of literature support the multidimensional aspects of successful online students.35

Personal Characteristics of Successful Online Students35

Motivation of Distance Education Students37

Student Motivation and Self-efficacy40

Figure 3: Overview of Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (Foust, 2008).43

Persistence of Students43

Environmental Factors44

Science Education in the Community College45

Summary47

REFERENCES49

Chapter 1: Introduction

Background

Between 2002 and 2008, online distance learning has surged. A report by the Sloan Consortium revealed that more than 3.5 million students took at least one online course in the fall of 2006 - a 10% increase over the previous year (Allen & Seaman, 2007). The Sloan Foundation survey also stated that, among students who took at least one online course per year, there was a 21.5% annual average growth-from 2002 to 2006 (Allen & Seaman, 2007; SchWeber, 2005). Estimates indicate that more than 100,000 distance-education courses are now offered in colleges and universities worldwide (Oblinger & Hawkins, 2005).

The percentage growth of online student enrollment has outpaced that of traditional classrooms (Oblinger & Hawkins, 2005). For instance, Allen and Seaman (2007) state that online enrollments increased 9.7% in 2006, while that of traditional courses increased 1.5%. This growth rate is especially true in certain education sectors, such as institutions granting two-year associate's degrees (Allen & Seaman, 2007).

According to recent reports, 53.6 % of institutions believe that online education is critical to their long-term strategy and growth (Oblinger & Hawkins, 2005). Higher education institutions regard the online environment as a source of newfound productivity and increased student access (SchWeber, 2005). Distance education has the potential to serve decentralized student populations and campuses. Still, for other universities, online courses are a boon for income. Both Oblinger et al. (2001) and (Bates, 1997) discussed these concerns in their summary of the field, stating that there are four strategic reasons for institutions to invest in distance education: access to students and businesses; leverage scalability; new revenue; and institutional transformation. With the expansion of online distance education, institutions are focusing on means of retaining students and enhancing their success in the online learning environment. Previous research indicates that online students tend to have lower persistence rates and are more likely to leave a course or program in greater numbers because of work-related pressure, financial constraint, and family concerns (Carr, 2000). While the literature related to traditional-course retention is extensive, the literature on online retention is still ...