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Research looks at how universities can curb the online drop-out rate .
Steven Greenland interviewed by Eleanor Campbell
As thousands of university students make their return to campus , many will choose to remain online , making them twice as likely to drop out as face-to-face learners .
High rates of dropouts are costing universities millions per year , and the numbers aren ’ t going down , according to
Professor Steven Greenland from Charles Darwin University .
“ That would suggest that we need to reflect upon what we are actually doing to address dropout because the current measures aren ’ t working ,” he told Campus Review .
“ Online students are often older , they ’ ve accumulated much more responsibilities along the way and their lives are a lot more complex .
“ The reality is that the online courses are not much more flexible than traditional courses . Looking at the online delivery is not going to address these core drivers of drop out : we need a paradigm shift .”
To understand the main reasons driving people to leave , Greenland and his colleagues spoke to over 200 students who made the decision to quit their online courses .
Greenland joined Campus Review to chat about his co-research and the unexpected challenges of online learning .
CR : What are the current online dropout rates like , and how do they compare to students attending on campus ? SG : It varies widely . It will depend on the program that a student is undertaking , but generally you find in first year units or courses the online student dropout rate is often double the dropout of the traditional on-campus students .
Depending on what kind of sources you look at , the actual number or proportion will vary . I think a recent government report found two-and-a-half times more dropouts online than on campus . Whatever the exact figure is , we can definitely say it ’ s much higher than traditional on-campus students .
You and your colleagues spoke to over 200 online students who made the decision to drop out . What sort of reasons did they give ? By and large , the most common reasons why students dropped out was largely driven by their own personal circumstances . Around two-thirds of all
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