Online Courses Report Spring 2014 Office of Institutional Research October 2, 2014

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Online Courses

Report

Spring 2014

Office of Institutional Research October 2, 2014

Course Enrollment & Completion

1

WEBON (100% online) course enrollment at Northern Essex Community College decreased by

9.7% from Spring 2013 to Spring 2014. The number of WEBON courses also decreased by

16.4%, while sections for WEBON decreased by 13.0% (see Table 1). WEBHY (50% online)

course enrollments increased by 44.1%. The number of WEBHY courses increased by 32.0% and

the WEBHY sections increased by 44.3% (see Table 2).

Table 1

WEBON Spring

2010

Spring

2011

Spring

2012

Spring

2013

Spring

2014

%

Change

'13 ‐ '14 # WEBON Seats 2,182 1,992 2,013 2,069 1,869 ‐9.7%

# WEBON Courses 63 71 71 73 61 ‐16.4%

# WEBON Sections 109 101 96 100 87 ‐13.0% Average WEBON Section Size 20 20 21 21 21 0.0% Average Traditional Section Size 20 19 19 20 19 ‐5.0%

For Spring 2014 there were 1,869 grades assigned to WEBON classified courses and 1,654 to

WEBHY classified courses. Although there has been a decrease in WEBON seats in Spring 2014

by 9.7% from Spring 2013, there has been an increase in the number of WEBHY seats by 44.1%

in Spring 2014 from Spring 2013 (see Table 2).

Table 2

WEB HYBRID Spring

2010

Spring

2011

Spring

2012

Spring

2013

Spring

2014

%

Change

'13 ‐ '14 # WEBHY Seats 763 784 1,169 1,148 1,654 44.1%

# WEBHY Courses 24 29 42 50 66 32.0%

# WEBHY Sections 38 45 70 70 101 44.3%

Average WEBHY Section Size 20 17 17 18 16 ‐11.1% Average Traditional Section Size 20 19 19 20 18 ‐10.0%

1_Sections_with_enrollments_of₁_‐₄_are_considered_directed_studies_and_are_excluded_from_Table₁_only._All_further analyses include all seats, courses, and sections from the end of term grade file.

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Figure 1 below shows the trend of the number of seats for WEBON and WEBHY from Spring

2010 to Spring 2014. There was a steady increase in number of WEBHY seats over the years

from Spring 2010 to Spring 2014 in comparison to the slightly decreased number of WEBON

seats.

Figure 1

In Spring 2014, the number of seats for Traditional courses decreased by 7.8% from Spring 2013

while WEBON seats decreased by 9.7% and WEBHY seats increased by 44.1% (See Table 3). Due

to the fact that many traditionally taught courses now have a blackboard component,

Traditional, Web Companion, and Web Enhanced course are more similar and therefore, have

been merged together in further analyses in Tables 3 and 4.

Table 3

*Traditional include WEBCP, WEBEN, INDIV, and UNK

WEBON A‐C completion rates increased from 64.8% in Spring 2013 to 65.3% in Spring 2014.

WEBHY A‐C completion rates have increased from 77.0% in Spring 2013 to 79.6% in Spring

2014. The Traditional A‐C completion rates have increased from 73.1% in Spring 2013 to 73.3%

in Spring 2014 (see Table 4).

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500

Spring 2010 Spring 2011 Spring 2012 Spring 2013 Spring 2014

Number

of

Online

Seats

Number

of

Online

Seats

Spring

2010

‐

Spring

2014

WEBON WEBHY

All courses by Method Type # Seats % # Seats % # Seats % # Seats % # Seats %

Traditional* 16,503 84.9% 16,178 85.4% 15,802 83.2% 15,674 83.0% 14,458 80.4% ‐7.8% WEBON 2,182 11.2% 1,992 10.5% 2,013 10.6% 2,069 11.0% 1,869 10.4% ‐9.7% WEBHY 763 3.9% 784 4.1% 1,169 6.2% 1,148 6.1% 1,654 9.2% 44.1%

Total Grades 19,448 100% 18,954 100% 18,984 100% 18,891 100% 17,981 100%

Spring 2010 Spring 2011 Spring 2012 % Change

'13 ‐ '14

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Table 4

Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring %

Change

'13 ‐ '14

WEBON 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

# WEBON Grades 2,182 1,992 2,013 2,069 1,869 ‐9.7% # WEBON Completers (A ‐ C) 1,365 1,276 1,303 1,340 1,221 ‐8.9% WEBON Completion Rate (A ‐ C) 62.6% 64.1% 64.7% 64.8% 65.3% 0.6% Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring %

Change

'13 ‐ '14

WEB HYBRID 2010 2011 2012 2013 2013

# WEBHY Grades 763 784 1,169 1,148 1,654 44.1% # WEBHY Completers (A ‐ C) 513 488 855 884 1,317 49.0% WEBHY Completion Rate (A ‐ C) 67.2% 62.2% 73.1% 77.0% 79.6% 2.6% Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring %

Change

'13 ‐ '14

Traditional* 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

# Traditional Grades 16,503 16,178 15,802 15,674 14,458 ‐7.8% # Traditional Completers (A ‐ C) 11,597 11,260 11,295 11,457 10,607 ‐7.4% Traditional Completion Rate (A ‐ C) 70.3% 69.6% 71.5% 73.1% 73.4% 0.3%

Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring %

Change

'13 ‐ '14

Total (all Grades) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

# Total Grades 19,448 18,954 18,984 18,891 17,981 ‐4.8% # Total Completers (A ‐ C) 13,475 13,024 13,453 13,681 13,145 ‐3.9% Total Completion Rate (A ‐ C) 69.3% 68.7% 70.9% 72.4% 73.1% 0.7% % of WEBON Grades to All Grades 11.2% 10.5% 10.6% 11.0% 10.4% ‐0.6% % of Online** Grades to All Grades 15.1% 14.6% 16.8% 17.0% 19.6% 2.6% *Traditional include WEBCP, WEBEN, INDIV, and UNK

** Online include WEBON and WEBHY

WEBHY realized the largest year gain in course completion rate by 2.6%, increasing from 77.0%

in Spring 2013 to 79.6% in Spring 2014 (see Table 4). Due to this significant increase, it is

important to consider what factors could potentially account for this large difference. The

iHealth program began more recently, and the iHealth sections are all WEBHY. Due to these

two factors, it is important to examine what type of an impact I Health has on the WEBHY

course completion rate.

Table 5 shows that the iHealth WEBHY course completion rate is considerably higher (89.1%)

than the non‐iHealth WEBHY course completion rate (68.7%). However, the WEBHY iHealth

course completion rate only slightly increased by 0.6% from Spring 2013 to Spring 2014 while

the WEBHY non‐iHealth course completion rate increased by 1.3%.

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Table 52

Online courses (WEBHY and WEBON) were offered in 41 disciplines in Spring 2014. Table 6

includes all disciplines offered during Spring 2014 and the corresponding course completion

rates by instructional method for Online and Traditional methods. Out of these 41 disciplines,

13 showed a higher Online A – C course completion rate than their Traditional counterparts

(highlighted in gray). Of these 13 highlighted disciplines, Accounting had the largest difference

of 12.7% between the Online and Traditional course completion rate.

Table 6

Discipline Subject

Code

Spring 2014 Online

A‐ C Completion Rate

Spring 2014 Traditional

A ‐ C Completion Rate

Accounting ACC 70.1% 57.4%

Anthropology ANT 66.7% 77.4%

Art ART 42.9% 84.9%

American Sign Language ASL 86.7%

Biology BIO 74.2% 72.1%

Business BUS 49.3% 66.8%

Chemistry CHM 83.3% 74.4%

Computer Information Sciences CIS 56.5% 60.9%

Clinic Lab Science CLS 72.7% 83.3%

Communications COM 86.4% 86.5%

Cooperative Education COP 100.0%

Criminal Justice CRJ 66.7% 81.6%

College Success Seminar CSS 64.3% 69.5%

Computed Tomography CTA 94.1%

Computer Technology Electronics CTE 75.6% Computer Technology Networking CTN 67.1% 64.6%

Cardiovascular Technology CVT 99.0%

Dance DAN 85.5%

Dental Assisting DAS 100.0%

Deaf and Hard of Hearing DHH 66.7%

Deaf Studies DST 90.9%

2_Previous_analyses_on_iHealth_course_completion_rates_categorized_iHealth_utilizing_the_Campus_variable_in_the_end of term Final Grades freeze file. Spring 2013 and 2014 were both calculated in this report utilizing the Sequence

Number variable and will be used for subsequent analyses for more accurate and direct comparisons.

WEB HYBRID # # A‐C completers # # A‐C completers Spring 2013 Spring 2014

# iHealth Seats 521 461 883 787 88.5% 89.1% 0.6%

# Non‐iHealth Seats 627 423 771 530 67.5% 68.7% 1.3%

Total Grades 1,148 884 1,654 1,317 77.0% 79.6% 2.6%

Spring 2013 Course Completion Rate % Change

'13 ‐ '14

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Code

A ‐ C Completion Rate Early Childhood Education ECE 68.8% 89.2%

Economics ECO 84.0% 84.8%

Elementary Education EDU 66.7% 83.3%

Emergency Medical Technician EMT 40.0% 88.9%

English ENG 64.3% 67.9%

Earth Science ERS 63.6% 87.2%

English as a Second Language ESL 90.6% 78.0% Engineering Science & Technology EST 74.0%

Finance FIN 90.3%

Geography GEO 73.3%

Government GOV 54.2% 65.9%

Health Services HES 89.4% 91.9%

History HIS 66.3% 71.0%

Honors HON 100.0%

Human Services HUS 72.2% 83.7%

Journalism JRN 69.8%

Literature LIT 53.9% 76.2%

Medical Assistant MAS 100.0% 94.4%

Mathematics MAT 68.7% 65.4%

Management MGT 61.9% 71.4%

Marketing MKT 82.6% 77.6%

Medical Records Technology MRT 92.4%

Music MUS 63.9%

Nursing NUR 100.0% 90.6%

Ophthalmic OPT 93.8%

Paralegal Studies PAR 84.2% 72.6%

PE / Sport and Leisure Studies PED 74.1%

Philosophy PHI 60.4% 70.9%

Physics PHS 61.9%

Practical Nursing PNS 89.5%

Polysomnography PSG 84.6% 92.3%

Psychology PSY 61.2% 71.9%

Reading REA 57.0% 64.9%

Religion REL 73.9%

Respiratory Care RSC 100.0% 98.4%

Radiologic Technology RTA 100.0% 99.0%

Science SCI 92.9%

Sociology SOC 78.2% 73.3%

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Code

A ‐ C Completion Rate

Theater THE 100.0%

Writing WRT 68.2%

Course Completion by Demographic Groups (Grades A‐C)

The graphs in Figures 2‐ 6 show the difference in course completion rates by various

demographics. Consistent with analyses presented in Tables 1‐6 in this report, course

completion rates for Online courses includes WEBON and WEBHY, while Traditional course

completion rates includes WEBEN, WEBCP, INDIV and UNK. In addition, Independent‐samples t

tests were conducted to find out if there were significant differences in mean grades between

students taking Online courses and students taking Traditional courses. The test results are by

various demographics detailed in Tables 7 – 9.

Gender

Females completed both Online and Traditional courses at a higher rate (A‐C) than males in

Spring 2014 as shown in Figure 2. The difference was 9.0% greater in Online courses and 8.0%

greater in Traditional courses for females over males. Males in both methods of instruction

attained course completion rates below the overall averages. Whereas females’ course

completion rates exceeded the overall averages in both methods.

Figure 2

Traditional include WEBEN, WEBCP, INDIV, & UNK

Online include WEBON & WEBHY

60% 65% 70% 75% 80%

Male Female

69%

77%

66%

75% Spring 2014 A‐C Course Completion by

Instructional Method & Gender

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Grade Comparison by Instructional Method & Gender

In comparing mean grades for males who took Online courses and those who took Traditional

courses, male students who took Traditional courses had a slightly higher mean grade than

male students taking Online courses, but the difference was not statistically significant. In

contrast, female students taking Traditional courses had a slightly lower mean grade compared

to female students taking Online courses, and the difference was also not statistically significant

(see Table 7).

Table 7

Age

Students over 25 taking either Online or Traditional courses completed courses (A‐C) at higher

rates and above the overall rates, than students age 25 and under in both categories in Spring

2014. The difference in course completion rates for Online courses was greater (13.0%) than

the difference in Traditional courses (8.0%) between students over 25 and students 25 and

under (see Figure 3).

Figure 3

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

25 & Under Over 25 71%

79% 66%

79% Spring 2014 A‐C Course Completion by

Instructional Method & Age

Traditional (Overall 73%) Online (Overall 72%) Using All Grades 4.0 to 0.00

Online Traditional

Gender Mean SD Mean SD P value

Males 2.30 1.63 2.34 1.48 0.479 Females 2.66 1.50 2.65 1.40 0.750

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Grade Comparison by Instruction Method and Age

In comparing mean grades, students aged 25 & under who took Traditional courses had a

statistically significantly higher mean grade than those who took Online courses (p < 0.01). In

contrast, students aged over 25 who took Traditional courses had a statistically significantly

lower mean grade than those who took Online courses (p = 0.05; see Table 8).

Table 8

Using All Grades 4.0 to 0.00

Online Traditional

Age Mean SD Mean SD P value

25 & Under 2.30 1.58 2.43 1.45 0.001* Over 25 2.87 1.44 2.76 1.40 0.011** * t test was statistically significant at p < 0.01

** t test was statistically significant at p = 0.05

Enrollment Status

Part‐time students (11 credits or less) taking Online sections completed courses (A‐C) at a lower

rate than Full‐time students taking Online courses by 1.0%. Full‐time students taking Traditional

courses had a 2.0% higher course completion rate than Full‐time students taking Online

courses. Part‐time students taking Traditional or Online courses each attained a course

completion rate of 72.0% (see Figure 4).

Figure 4

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Part‐Time Full‐Time

72% _72% 75% 73%

Spring 2014 A‐C Course Completion by Instructional Method & Enrollment Status

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Grade Comparison by Instruction Method and Enrollment Status

Part‐time students who took Online courses had a mean grade statistically significantly higher

than mean grade of Part‐time students who took Traditional courses (p < 0.05). In contrast, the

mean grade for Full‐time students taking Traditional courses was slightly higher than the mean

grade of Online courses, but the difference was not statistically significant (see Table 9).

Table 9

Online Traditional

Status Mean SD Mean SD P value

Part‐Time 2.55 1.57 2.47 1.49 0.032* Full‐ Time 2.56 1.52 2.57 1.40 0.845 * t test was statistically significant at p < 0.05

Credits Earned

Students in Traditional courses who earned one credit or more prior to Spring 2014, had a 9.0%

higher course completion rate (A‐C) compared to students who had not earned any credits.

Students taking Online courses with one or more earned credits had a 12.0% higher course

completion rate than students who had not earned any credits. Students who earned one credit

or more taking either Online or Traditional courses, completed courses at higher rates than

students who had not earned any credits in both categories and above the overall rates (see

Figure 5).

Figure 5

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

No Earned Credits 1 or More Earned Credits 66%

75% 61%

73% Spring 2014 A‐C Course Completion by Instructional Method & Earned Credits

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Grade Comparison by Instruction Method and Earned Credits

The mean grade for students taking Traditional courses who had earned zero credits prior to

Spring 2014, was higher than the mean grade for students taking Online courses. However, the

difference was not statistically significant. In contrast, the mean grade of students taking

Traditional courses who earned 1 or more credits prior to Spring 2014 was lower than the mean

grade of students taking Online courses. The mean difference was not statistically significant

(see Table 10).

Table 10

Online Traditional

Credits Earned Mean SD Mean SD P value

0 Earned 2.24 1.68 2.28 1.57 0.651 1 or More 2.58 1.53 2.56 1.41 0.401

Registration Date

Students taking either Online or Traditional courses and registered for classes before January

1st_,_2014,_had_higher_course_completion_rates_(A_‐_C)_than_students_who_registered_on_January₁st_,

2014 or later. Students who registered before January 1st_,₂₀₁₄_taking_either_Online_or

Traditional courses, completed courses at much higher rates than students who registered

January 1st_,₂₀₁₄_or_later_and_above_the_overall_rates_(see_Figure_6).

Figure 6

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Registered Before Jan. 1st Registered Jan. 1st or Later 83%

55% 83%

49% Spring 2014 A‐C Course Completion by Instructional Method & Registration Date

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Grade Comparison by Instruction Method and Registration Date

For students who registered before January 1st_,₂₀₁₄_and_who_took_Online_courses,_had_a

statistically significantly higher mean grade than those taking Traditional courses (p < 0.01).

Students taking Online courses who registered on January 1st_,₂₀₁₄_or_later_had_a_{statistically}

signigicantly lower mean grade than those taking Traditional courses (p < 0.01; see Table 11).

Table 11

Online Traditional

Registration Date Mean SD Mean SD P value

Before Aug 15th _2.96 _1.27 _2.85 _1.21 _0.000*

Aug 15th_or_later _1.73 _1.72 _1.89 _1.62 _0.004*

* t test was statistically significant at p < 0.01

Grade Comparison by Registration Date for All Methods of Instruction

An independent samples t test was conducted to compare the mean scores of students who

registered early (before January 1st_,₂₀₁₄₎_and_those_who_registered_late_(January₁st_or_later)

for Spring 2014. There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.01) in the mean scores for

students who registered early (2.87) and those who registered late (1.86). As seen in the

previous Online reports, the results suggest that when students register early, they get higher

grades regardless of the method of instruction of the class (see Table 12).

Table 12

Before Jan. 1st Jan. 1st or later

Method of Instruction Mean SD Mean SD P value

All Methods 2.87 1.22 1.86 1.64 0.000* * t test was statistically significant at p < 0.01

Summary

Spring 2014 experienced a decline in WEBON seats by 9.7% from Spring 2013. The number of

WEBON courses also decreased by 16.4%. WEBON course completion rate (A‐C) increased by

0.5%, from 64.8% in Spring 2013 to 65.3% in Spring 2014. The WEBHY course completion rate

increased by 2.6%, from 77.0% in Spring 2013 to 79.6% in Spring 2014. The Traditional course

completion rate also slightly increased by 0.2% from 73.1% in Spring 2013 to 73.3% in Spring

2014.

As seen in previous year’s Online courses at Northern Essex Community College reports, males,

students age 25 and under, part‐time students, students with no earned credits, and students

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counterparts. Registration date had the largest difference in course completion rate with 34.0%

difference for Online courses and 28.0% for Traditional courses as indicated in Figure 6.

In Spring 2014, male students taking Traditional courses had a higher mean grade than those

taking Online courses. However, the difference was not statistically significant. In contrast,

female students taking Traditional courses had a lower mean grade compared to female

students taking Online courses but the difference was also not statistically significant.

In analysis to compare the performance of students by age, Traditional students aged 25 and

under had statistically significantly higher mean score than Online students of the same age

category (p < 0.01). In contrast, students aged over 25 taking Traditional courses had

significantly lower mean grade than students taking Online sections of the same age category (p

= 0.05).

Part‐time students who took Online courses had a mean grade statistically significantly higher

than those in Traditional courses (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in mean grades

between Full‐time students taking Traditional or Online courses.

Students taking Online courses who earned no credits had lower mean scores than students

taking Traditional courses. The difference was not statistically significant. The mean grade of

students taking Online courses with 1 or more earned credits was higher than students taking

Traditional courses. The difference was not statistically significant.

Students taking Online courses who registered before January 1st_,₂₀₁₄_had_a_{statistically}

significantly higher mean grade than students taking Traditional courses (p < 0.01). Students

who took Online courses who registered January 1st_,₂₀₁₄_or_later_had_a_{statistically}_{significantly}

lower mean grade than students who took Traditional courses. Overall, the results suggest that

when students register early, they get higher grades regardless of the method of instruction of

the class.

This analysis revealed that there was a remarkable increase between Spring 2013 and Spring

2014 in number of WEBHY courses (32.0%) and WEBHY enrollment (44.1%). Further, the course

completion rate for the WEBHY courses increased considerably (2.6%) compared to WEBON

(0.6%) and Traditional courses (0.3%).