Skip to main content

Redefining Dropout Rates for the Working Scholar



Dropout rates have become an important educational marker of institutional success. It doesn’t matter if the metric is used to define high schools, college, or even training. A drop out is a sunk cost and administrators are concerned about its implications for the future of certain programs. However, dropout rates, like any other metric, is only part of the issue. It is a number that is redefined depending on which definition the evaluator wishes to use and the general educational environment.

An article in the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning discussed the nature of common definitions of dropout and how these measurements are somewhat subjective (Grau-Valldosera & Minguillon, 2014). Current definitions may be inaccurate and not applicable to online education as much as it is to traditional schools. 

Students in the online system may leave and return a year or more later; they are calculated as dropouts. Under more traditional systems the instance a student leaves school they are considered a dropout. Under a traditional semester and dormitory school this is a sufficient method of calculating rates because of the re-access barriers and formal approval processes that define the educational process makes it difficult for most of these students to return.

Within an online system students may not view a drop out the same way. A person who doesn’t take an accelerated class this semester may not consider themselves drop outs. They could be taking a break, moving apartments, or changing jobs. After getting over their hectic life change they may just sign back up for another course. Tracking over a longer period would create a more accurate assessment.

Such students aren’t always lost. They are sort of in the transitioning process of working and continuing their careers. Sometimes they have the extra capital and time to go school while at other times they be too busy with work or family. The tragedy of a drop out doesn’t occur unless the person doesn’t come back or takes an excessive amount of time to fulfill their educational goals. 

That is part of the point of online higher education. It was meant to help working adults that want to go back to school and further their careers. Some of these students achieve academic excellence that other systems don't offer. For example, Master and Doctoral students offer a chance to gain practical knowledge in the working world while becoming theoretical contributors. The process may take longer but the potential contribution to society could be more.

Even if such doctor’s don’t immediately produce high levels of laboratory experimentation they do contribute to literature, science and industry knowledge. Because the online system is becoming fully established it will eventually raise doctors who will conduct high levels of applied research. Theoretical knowledge tied with practical working knowledge is a dynamite combination.

Higher education is about raising the specter of minds available to society. It improves upon an individual’s lifestyle and earning prospects. Whether they stay or leave college their knowledge goes with them. Retention could be better defined by the empirical model as outlined in Grau-Valldosera & Minguillion’s journal article that affords more flexibility in working-learners than traditional models. The online student is a highly motivated self-learner that may pop in and out of the educational system. Knowing where and when to reclassify a non-active student a drop out is open to definitional debate.

Grau-Valldosera, J. & Miguillon, J. (2014). Rethinking dropout in online higher education: the case of the Universitat Oberta De Catalunya, 15 (1).

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Meaning of A Boundless Moment by Robert Frost

A Boundless Moment by Robert Frost He halted in the wind, and — what was that Far in the maples, pale, but not a ghost? He stood there bringing March against his thought, And yet too ready to believe the most. "Oh, that's the Paradise-in-bloom," I said; And truly it was fair enough for flowers had we but in us to assume in march Such white luxuriance of May for ours. We stood a moment so in a strange world, Myself as one his own pretense deceives; And then I said the truth (and we moved on). A young beech clinging to its last year's leaves. The poem is one of seasons changing and the cycle of life. Each May the bloom comes out and brings life to the death of winter. The poem is about a single moment when the characters see that life has changed. The layers of meaning can be deep but on the surface it appears Robert Frost is discussing nature and its cyclical momentum.   Everything in nature moves through patterns. The poem indicates that

Art Review: The Kiss by Gustav Klimt

The Kiss is Gustav Klimt’s most famous and well known painting. Produced in 1908 in Vienna, Austria and incorporated oil and gold life on the canvas ( 1 ). This was unique for his time and represents both tile works with Asiatic influence. The painting and the romance it brings forward is still wonderment to onlookers. The picture depicts a passionate relationship between a man and woman in a sort of perfect place.  The couple is embracing, bodies entwined, wearing robes of wealth and decadence. It provides linear constructs of the Art Nouveau style and the movement of arts with crafts ( 2 ). The male is square and masculine while the woman painted is in curves to represent femininity. The couple is a pair with the woman and man equal in stature. They are in a field of flowers and appear to rise above it.  To many this painting represents the concept that love has no bounds. Social position or worldly wealth cannot hide what goes on under the fancy clothes and standard m

The Nine Parries of Saber Fencing

The Parry is important for defending against attacks and offers an opportunity to counter attack. Without learning parries it will be difficult to effectively compete in fencing. Your body will be generally open to seasoned fencers. Practicing defending against attacks using multiple parries is important for creating the highest levels of competitive skill. The most common parries used are Parry of Four, Parry of Six, Parry of Seven, and Parry of Eight ( 1 ). They are designed to protect your right side, left side, lower stomach, middle of your stomach. They are parries designed to cover the core areas of your body and help you defend against the majority of fencing attacks.   Prime: Stops a cut to the chest. Seconde: Stops a low cut to the flank Tierce: Stops high cut to the flank Quarte: Stops high cut to the chest. Quinte: Stops cut to head. Sixte : Stops cut to head. Septime: Stops cut to back. Octave: Stops cut to flank. Neuvieme: Protects Back Mic