UWG eCore (USG-UWG) eCore All eCore UWG ftf
94
of passing a course via eCore vice taking the same course on-campus with the University of West Georgia. The literature review provided possible explanations for differences in online and traditional classroom success; which will be discussed in “online performance factors” following “Research Question 6” discussion.
Note, that in Figures 5.4, 5.5, 5.7, and 5.8 two different datasets are shown. For each of the eCore categories, the data came from the USG, and all UWG face-to-face information came from the UWG. The primary difference in these datasets was the dates of the data pulls: end of May 2017 for UWG data, and the middle of July 2017 for the USG data pull.
Research Question 6: How are differences in the dual enrollment pass rates, of University of West Georgia eCore and other University System of Georgia eCore courses, affected by student, county of origin, level of urbanicity indicators?
This question combines all observed UWG eCore and other USG eCore courses taken as dual credit, or combines the math and non-STEM courses examined in the
research questions four and five. Logit regression results showed that predictor variables;
population, high school graduation rate, POLS 1101, and rural counties had significant effects on the probability of a student passing a course. Note that the effect of UWG was minimal as there was little difference in the probability of a student passing a UWG eCore course compared to a USG eCore course.
The average marginal effects related to the predictor variable population resulted in
a decrease in probabilities of a student passing a course ranging from 0.56 to 1.0 percentage points for each increase of 100,000 in county population. The average
marginal effects related to the predictor variable high school graduation rate resulted in a
95
decrease in the probability of a student passing a course. Every increase of 10 percent in high school graduation rate resulted in a negative 0.8 percentage point in the probability of passing a course. The average marginal effects related to the predictor variable POLS 1101 resulted in an increase in the probabilities of passing a course by 4.5 percentage points.
The average marginal effects related to the variable rural county resulted in an increase in the probability of a student passing a course by 3.6 percentage points. This result was significant in model (5) of Table 4.15 with a z value of 1.746 when controlling for the predictor variable UWG.
Table 5.2 shows the relationship of ABC rates between students with rural county of origins compared to students with non-rural county of origins. Note, that eCore Rural, or students with rural county of origins and taking eCore courses, outperformed non-rural eCore students in ABC rates.
Table 5.2
All USG eCore rural & non-rural student county of origin ABC rates
eCore Non-rural Rural
ABC rate 90.64 93.60
Students 1218 344
Online performance factors. Several factors help explain academic
performance differences between online and face-to-face courses. The primary issue is the inherent differences in the modes of delivery between online and traditional classes.
Volery & Lord (2000) provided three critical success factors concerning online
education: technology; student characteristics; and instructor characteristics. Technology
96
factors involved course navigation, visual structure, course design, and interactivity between students and faculty. Picciano (2002) related that the faculty-student relationship and interaction was most critical to student success and satisfaction in the online
environment. These factors could include feedback and timely responses between student and instructor. Further, according to Bolliger (2004) & Selim (2007), online students must be particularly disciplined and take responsibility for their learning to succeed in online courses. Typical high school students have had a decade or more of classroom experience, but online instruction and testing may be new to them. Success with online education requires self-discipline and personal accountability without an instructor leaning over your desk.
Pass rates and the probability of passing a course were the primary outcome metrics in this study. Student withdrawals contribute to pass rate determination because withdrawals count as a failed course attempt. According to Jaggars & Bailey (2010) students enrolled in online courses tend to withdraw more often than their peers in traditionally delivered courses. Online withdrawals were attributed to technology barriers, socioeconomic factors, academically underprepared students, lower self-direction, and lower self-discipline. For the observed courses, UWG face-to-face STEM courses had a withdrawal rate of 0.7 percent (n=1087) and all USG eCore non-STEM courses had a withdrawal rate of 2.2 percent (n=1332) or three times that of UWG face-to-face dual credit courses. The increased withdrawal rates of all USG eCore did have a negative effect on the overall USG eCore pass rates and probabilities of a student passing a course of approximately 1.5 percentage points.
97
Passing a course has value in that passed courses allow students to continue taking follow-on courses and make progress toward a college degree. However, a
difference in pass rates between face-to-face and online courses does not indicate course quality or resultant student learning. For example, a very high pass rate may indicate that the course is too easy. Conversely, a very low pass rate may indicate, poor teaching, inadequate course materials, or difficult technical navigation in an online course.
Differences in pass rates do not directly correlate to course quality differences, only that a student had a greater probability of passing a course compared to another course.
Summary
For non-STEM courses UWG face-to-face dual enrollment produced higher pass rates than UWG eCore dual enrollment. However, online and face-to-face course delivery were both found to produced very high pass rates, with UWG eCore non-STEM dual enrollment indicating pass rates of just over 90 percent.
When comparing UWG eCore to other USG or (USG-UWG) eCore, for our two math courses, we find no significant difference in the probabilities of passing a course. It was also observed that students, taking eCore across all affiliate state institutions, had very similar pass rates when compared to UWG face-to-face dual credit for math courses.
For our non-STEM courses, the findings indicate that when comparing all eCore to UWG face-to-face for non-STEM courses, UWG face-to-face dual students had higher pass rates. In addition, UWG eCore and other USG eCore performed similarly
concerning pass rates.
The results of research question three, comparing UWG face-to-face to UWG eCore, indicated the average marginal effects of eCore, population, and math courses had
98
a negative effect on the probabilities of a student passing a course. It was also noted that eCore students from rural counties had higher pass rates, but this was not found to be significant in the logit regression model.
The results of research question six, comparing UWG eCore to USG eCore, indicated that the average marginal effects of population and high school graduation rate had a negative effect on the probabilities of a student passing a course. Also, noted was that there was little difference in the probabilities of a student passing a UWG eCore course compared to passing a USG eCore course. POLS 1101 was found to have a positive average marginal effect on the probabilities of a student passing a course.
Students from rural counties were found to pass their eCore courses at higher rates than students from more populated counties. This effect was significant in model (5) of Table 4.15.
The results show that eCore, population, and math courses negatively influenced the probability of a student passing a course. It was also found that POLS 1101 and ENGL 1102 provided a positive effect on the probabilities of a student passing a course.
Fundamental to this study was the finding that students from designated rural counties, one of the 108 in Georgia, had higher probabilities of passing an eCore course than students from more populated counties. This is important because many of these rural students have limited dual enrollment options due to their distance from college
campuses. In these cases, online courses may be their only viable option to attend a USG institution and successfully earn dual credit.
99
Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations
eCore courses were used as the sole online option observed in this study. Other online options available to Georgia students would include single institution organic online core classes. In addition, the study focused on University System of Georgia institutions to the exclusion of the Technical College System of Georgia or the state’s private higher education institutions. However, eCore makes a good choice for study in that eCore courses are available through 22 USG institutions and over 2,100 eCore courses were taken as dual credit since July 2015 by Georgia high school students. The period of focus was limited to fall 2015 through spring 2017 semesters, largely due to the significant increase in dual enrollment participation since Georgia implemented dual enrollment funding, Georgia Dual Enrollment. In the future, a researcher could include many more semesters within a study and could include a greater number of student dual credit course attempts which may produce different or more generalizable results.
The focus on the University of West Georgia provided an opportunity to compare relatively large numbers of eCore and face-to-face dual enrollment course attempts.
However, this choice limited results for dual enrollment face-to-face comparisons to only one institution. It may be problematic to generalize any of the UWG on-campus pass rates to other USG institutions. Moreover, only nine total core courses were observed, of which only two were STEM courses, both math. Many more core courses are available to dual enrolled students that were not examined because too few students took either the UWG eCore or the UWG face-to-face courses.
The USG institutional dual enrollment entrance requirements are generally higher than college full-time freshman entrance requirements (University System of Georgia
100
dual enrollment admissions requirements, 2017). The criteria for acceptance as a dual enrolled student at USG institutions is high enough to ensure that the majority of
students, accepted for dual enrollment, are capable of successfully handling college-level material. The differences in student academic performance, specifically course pass rates, were examined considering population, high school graduation rates, bachelor degree attainment rates, unemployment rates, median income, food stamp use, poverty level rates, rural county designation, high school student/teacher ratio and high school free &
reduced lunch rates. This focused examination directly supported the study’s conceptual framework of college choice. No other criteria, such as race, gender, age, or
first-generation college student were considered in this study. These input variables would be worth including in future studies of online dual enrollment performance.
Faculty-student interaction and engagement can influence student learning and academic success. According to Umbach, Matthew & Wawrzynski (2005) and Endo &
Harpel (1982), faculty can enrich student academic experiences, student satisfaction, and provide for academic challenge as well. This study did not account for any differences in faculty experience or differences related to part-time and full-time status. Although, Bolge (1995) and Landrum (2009) indicated little difference in student learning relative to part-time verse full-time faculty, Umbach (2007) cited part-time faculty challenges such as less course preparation, less challenge for students, and lower academic
expectations. Moreover, as discussed in chapter two, faculty mastery of technology tools was found to be critical to student satisfaction and learning in online courses (Selim, 2007; Volery & Lord, 2000). Future studies may consider these possible influences on student success and earned grades.
101
If future studies found that rural students, taking online courses for dual credit, had higher ABC rates than other students, it would add to our knowledge and may lead to a better understanding of why.
102 CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS Conclusions
Many of our rural Georgia high school students live too far away from the nearest college or university to reasonably participate in traditional dual enrollment classroom instruction. If Georgia’s postsecondary institutions did not offer an equitable alternative to face-to-face learning, then students in rural counties would not fully benefit from Georgia Dual Enrollment and may find earning college credits difficult. Online learning provides a pathway with streams of knowledge flooding into our educational deserts.
This study compared online dual enrollment to face-to-face dual enrollment pass rates and the probability of passing a course. Leveraging eCore as the online option and the University of West Georgia as the face-to-face institution, this study compared selected math and non-STEM courses. Further, the other USG eCore affiliate institutions were examined to expand the number of dual credit students observed and to include a larger portion of the state. This resulted in the observation of more students from rural counties and provided a comparison of the University of West Georgia eCore pass rates.
Georgia’s rural school districts, primarily located within the 108 designated rural counties, warranted study to determine the effects of student, county of origin levels of urbanicity, economic, and high school factors on dual credit online course success.
The results of research question one showed no significant differences in the probabilities of passing a UWG eCore or a UWG face-to-face math course. Math courses
103
were a focus of this study because according to Adelman (2006), success in math courses at the high school level is a significant indicator of college persistence and graduation.
Only two math courses were observed due to a low number of student enrollments in other math UWG eCore or face-to-face dual credit courses. It would be an overreach to conclude, from only two observed math courses, that the resultant pass rates are
generalizable beyond the observed courses at the observed institution.
Non-STEM course comparisons between UWG eCore and UWG face-to-face, research question two, provided information that is more actionable. The seven non-STEM courses observed provided 665 students taking UWG eCore courses and 1087 students taking UWG face-to-face courses. Students taking UWG face-to-face non-STEM dual credit courses passed at a rate of just over 5 percentage points higher than students taking the same courses via UWG eCore. Notably, when considering all eCore students, 1,332 across the state, there remained just over a 5 percentage point gap between all USG eCore and UWG face-to-face for non-STEM dual credit courses. I conclude that dual enrolled students taking eCore non-STEM courses are likely to pass at a lower rate than their peers taking the same course on-campus at UWG. Although, UWG on-campus courses had higher pass rates than the observed online courses, students taking the online courses still passed at a very high rate of just over 90 percent.
These results, indicating that UWG face-to-face dual credit courses were passed at higher rates than similar courses online through UWG eCore are not surprising. Jaggars
& Bailey (2010) indicated that online classes have a greater percentage of withdrawals which result in lower overall pass rates. Also, studies found that online modality factors such as technology, faculty engagement, and student discipline play a critical role as well
104
in student success rates (Bolliger, 2004; Picciano 2002; Selim, 2007; Volery & Lord, 2000).
It was also found that the dual credit course a student takes can make a difference in the probability of achieving a passing grade. This finding is not surprising and in this study POLS 1101 and ENGL 1102 were found to have higher probabilities of passing grades than other courses. Also, the math courses examined were found to have lower probabilities of students achieving a passing grade than other courses.
Research question three which examined UWG face-to-face and UWG eCore course grades provided several significant findings. First, that students taking eCore courses indicated lower pass rates and probabilities of passing a course compared to taking the same course on-campus with UWG. Second, student county of origin population was negatively correlated to the probability of passing a course. In other words, students from less populated counties were found to pass their dual credit courses at higher rates than their peers from more populated counties. Third, that math courses were passed at lower rates than other courses.
Research question six, which examined all USG eCore courses throughout the state, produced five significant findings. First, that there was little difference in the probability of a student passing a course with UWG eCore or taking eCore with another USG institution. Second, population was again found to be a factor where students from less populated counties had higher probabilities of passing their courses than peers from more populated counties. Third, a similar finding concerning high school graduation rate was also found to be significant. The lower the high school graduation rate of a student’s county of origin the higher the probability of passing a course. Forth, students taking
105
POLS 1101 were found to have a high probability of passing compared to other observed courses. Fifth, students from designated rural counties had higher probabilities of passing their eCore courses than students from more populated counties.
Rural student challenges, cited in this study, did not appear to affect their dual credit course pass rates. In fact, these rural students were found to pass their dual credit courses at higher rates than their peers from more populated counties (see Tables 5.1 and 5.2). Research indicated that students from rural areas were less likely than their
counterparts to attend college and earn a college degree (Adelman, 2002; Koricich, 2014;
McDonough et al., 2010). High school graduation rates and bachelor’s degree attainment rates are much lower for Georgia’s designated rural counties, those at or under 35,000 population. For Georgia’s rural counties the high school graduation rates were 77 percent and the bachelor’s degree attainment rate was 13.5 percent compared to a high school graduation rate of 82.7 percent and bachelor’s degree attainment rate of 22.7 percent for counties over 35,000 population (see Table 2.1) (US Census Bureau, 2015a).
This anomaly of high rural student pass rates can be partially attributed to the minimum admission requirements set by colleges and universities for dual enrolled students. These requirements are generally higher than first-time freshman requirements (University System of Georgia dual enrollment admissions requirements, 2017). This means that a student from a rural county would have to meet the same academic standards as all other students in the state. It is possible that a lower percentage of
students from rural counties qualify for dual enrollment college admissions. However, the rural students that were qualified to participate in dual enrollment, passed their courses at
106
higher rates than their peers. The qualified rural student that seeks the path of dual enrollment may be more motivated than the typical dual credit student.
The observed dual credit students in this study pass their courses at high rates face-to-face and online. UWG face-to-face had higher pass rates than eCore, however;
eCore had a pass rate of over 90 percent, or 9 out of 10 students passed their courses.
This relatively high pass rate provides students who cannot attend face-to-face with a viable USG dual credit option. Rural county students, who may not be able to attend a
This relatively high pass rate provides students who cannot attend face-to-face with a viable USG dual credit option. Rural county students, who may not be able to attend a