ATTRITION AND COMPLETION IN DISTANCE EDUCATION:

THE STUDENT'S PERSPECTIVE

by

JANE E. BRINDLEY B.A., U n i v e r s i t y o f A l b e r t a , 1976

THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS

i n

THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of C o u n s e l l i n g Psychology)

We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming t o the r e q u i r e d standard

The U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia J u l y , 1987

(c) Jane E. B r i n d l e y , 1987

In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced

degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it

freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive

copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my

department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or

publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written

permission.

Department

The University of British Columbia 1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3

DE-6(3/81)

i i

ABSTRACT

This was an exploratory study which used Flanagan's

(1954) C r i t i c a l Incident Technique to examine students'

experiences i n taking t h e i r f i r s t distance education course.

S p e c i f i c a l l y , the study asked what incidents hindered or

f a c i l i t a t e d persistence, and i f reports of experiences from

completers were d i f f e r e n t from those of non-completers. The

40 subjects f o r the sample were drawn at random from

selected courses at Athabasca University, an open admission

distance education i n s t i t u t i o n serving students across

Canada.

A l l students were able to i d e n t i f y incidents which

hindered or f a c i l i t a t e d t h e i r progress. A mean of 6.6

incidents was reported per student. From the 2 65 incidents

reported, 13 Basic Categories were formed, with a r e l i a b i l ­

i t y of 94%. Only one category had les s than 20% of students

reporting i n i t . The highest proportion of students report­

ing i n one category was 80%.

S i g n i f i c a n t factors a f f e c t i n g a t t r i t i o n i n distance

education emerged from the study, as did findings about the

s i m i l a r i t i e s and differences between the experiences of com­

pl e t e r s and non-completers. Suggestions f o r how the f i n d ­

ings might contribute to the development of a model of

a t t r i t i o n and retention strategies are included i n the d i s ­

cussion.

i i i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

ABSTRACT i i

TABLE OF CONTENTS i i i

LIST OF TABLES v i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v i i

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1

Background: Distance Education as the Answer for Adult Learners 1

Statement of Problem and Purpose of Study 4 D e f i n i t i o n of Terms 5 Research Questions and Rationale 6 Setting 7 Delimitations of Study 8 Summary 9

CHAPTER I I . REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 11

Introduction 11 Problem with Defining A t t r i t i o n and Retention 12 Student C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s Related to A t t r i t i o n 14

Demographic Factors 15 Academic Factors 18 Motivational Factors 20 Personality Factors 22 Summary: Student C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s 24

I n s t i t u t i o n a l C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s Related to A t t r i t i o n . 24

Size/Image/Status 26 Housing 27 Student-Faculty Interaction 27 Student Support Services 29 Other I n s t i t u t i o n a l Factors i n Distance

Education 31 Peer Group Influence 31

External Environmental Factors Related to A t t r i t i o n .... 32

Fin a n c i a l Factors 33 Outside Encouragement 34 Change i n Circumstances 35

i v

PAGE

CHAPTER I I . REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE (continued)

Reasons f o r Drop-out Provided by Students 3 6

Academic Reasons/Dissatisfaction with I n s t i t u t i o n 37

Fin a n c i a l Reasons 37 Motivational Reasons 38 Change i n Circumstances 39

Theoretical Models of A t t r i t i o n 40

Retention Strategies 47

Recruitment/Information 47 Admissions P o l i c i e s 48 Orientation Programmes 48 Assessment and Counselling 48 Student/Faculty Interactions 49 Summary: Retention Strategies 49

Research Method 49

CHAPTER I I I . METHODOLOGY 52

Subject Selection 52 Description of Subjects 53 I n i t i a l Contact Process 56 The Interview 56 Recording and Sorting of Data 59

CHAPTER IV. RESULTS 61

Description of Basic Categories 62

(1) Student Interaction with the I n s t i t u t i o n .. 62 (2) Personalized Instr u c t i o n a l Support 63 (3) Discovery about the Course/Support

Materials/Approach 63 (4) Pre-Course Preparation/Prior

Expectations 64 (5) Received Encouragement/Support from

Source Outside of the University 65 (6) Deadlines and Schedules 65 (7) Personal R e a l i z a t i o n 66 (8) Thoughts about Longer Term Goals 66 (9) Marks Received 67 (10) Changes i n Time Available/Circumstances ... 68 (11) Course Content 68 (12) Course Design 69

V

PAGE

CHAPTER IV. RESULTS (continued)

(13) P r a c t i c a l A p p l i c a t i o n of L e a r n i n g 70

R e l i a b i l i t y o f B a s i c C a t e g o r i e s 70 B a s i c C a t e g o r i e s P a r t i c i p a t i o n Rate 71

Comparison of Completers and Non-Completers 72

CHAPTER V. DISCUSSION 76

Statement o f R e s u l t s 76

Change i n Time A v a i l a b l e o r Circumstances 77 P e r s o n a l R e a l i z a t i o n 79 P e r s o n a l i z e d I n s t r u c t i o n a l Support 80 D i s c o v e r y About the Course 82 Encouragement/Support from O u t s i d e the

U n i v e r s i t y 83 Course Design 84 Pre-Course P r e p a r a t i o n / P r i o r E x p e c t a t i o n s 85 D e a d l i n e s and Schedules 86 Course Content 87 Student I n t e r a c t i o n w i t h the I n s t i t u t i o n 88 Marks Received 89 P r a c t i c a l A p p l i c a t i o n of L e a r n i n g 89 Thoughts about Longer Term Goals 90

I m p l i c a t i o n s f o r a Conceptual Model 91 I m p l i c a t i o n s f o r R e t e n t i o n S t r a t e g i e s 98

Recruitment and I n f o r m a t i o n 99 O r i e n t a t i o n Programs/Assessment S e r v i c e s 100 Other C o u n s e l l i n g Programs 101 S t a f f Development Role f o r C o u n s e l l o r s 102 Other Recommendations 102

L i m i t a t i o n s and Future Research 103

Summary 104

REFERENCES 106

APPENDICES I l l

Appendix I - L e t t e r o f I n i t i a l Contact I l l Appendix I I - Consent Form 112

v i

LIST OF TABLES

PAGE

Ta b l e I Comparison of C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f Sample S u b j e c t s w i t h those o f T o t a l Student P o p u l a t i o n 55

T a b l e I I B a s i c C a t e g o r i e s P a r t i c i p a t i o n Rate ... 72

T a b l e I I I Comparison o f P a r t i c i p a t i o n Rates i n C a t e g o r i e s Between Completers and Non-Completers 74

T a b l e IV Comparison o f R a t i o s Between F a c i l i t a t i n g and H i n d e r i n g I n c i d e n t s i n C a t e g o r i e s f o r Completers and Non-Completers 75

v i i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I t takes a great deal of patience, t a l e n t , and

e f f o r t to produce a work of t h i s s i z e — more than one per­

son can provide. I thank Trudy Harrington f o r her s k i l l s

and i n c r e d i b l e patience at the computer terminal, Doug Shale

fo r h i s ideas and contributions to the references, and Ross

Paul f o r h i s f i n e e d i t i n g , constructive c r i t i c i s m , and car­

ing support, and a l l other family, friends, and colleagues

who gave encouragement and advice.

1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background: Distance Education as the Answer fo r Adult

Learners

During the past three decades i n North America,

demographic, s o c i a l , and technological changes have acted as

c a t a l y s t s i n sending adults back into the educational sys­

tem. The move toward recurrent and further education by the

post-university age i n d i v i d u a l i s s t r i k i n g . Every year more

adults are p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n formal education, and demo­

graphic projections indicate that t h i s trend w i l l continue,

while the numbers of younger students w i l l diminish (Brod-

z i n s k i , 1980; Greenfeig and Goldberg, 1984; Report of Task

Force on Mature Students, 1983).

During the past 10 to 15 years, North American c o l ­

leges and u n i v e r s i t i e s have begun to recognize t h i s trend

and have attempted to accommodate the adult student i n a

number of ways (Cross, 1981). However, despite t h e i r deter­

mined e f f o r t s to become more accessible to t h i s population,

there are s t i l l major obstacles facing the adult returning

to a t r a d i t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n . Many adults believe that edu­

cation i s s t i l l too r i g i d i n i t s formal requirements, i s

s t i l l too c o s t l y , and i s t y p i c a l l y unavailable at the times

2

and places most needed (Heffernan, Macy, and Vickers, 1976;

Taaffe and Rocco, 1981; Report of Task Force on Mature Stu­

dents, 1983) .

In the face of these b a r r i e r s to further education,

adults have demanded new modes of learning. Distance educa­

t i o n , because of i t s f l e x i b l e nature, has been heralded by

some as the key to providing learning s i t u a t i o n s which can

be adapted to the i n d i v i d u a l requirements of adults leading

complex l i v e s i n which being a student i s only one of many

ro l e s . Athabasca University i n Alberta, Tele-universite i n

Quebec, and the Open Learning I n s t i t u t e i n B r i t i s h Columbia

are three Canadian i n s t i t u t i o n s which are attempting to pro­

vide u n i v e r s i t y l e v e l education through distance learning

methods fo r adults who e i t h e r cannot or choose not to attend

a t r a d i t i o n a l campus-based u n i v e r s i t y . Self-reports from

t h e i r students indicate that adults f i n d distance education

an a t t r a c t i v e option f o r reasons of economics, time f l e x i ­

b i l i t y , and geography (Smyrnew, 1983; Tele-universite,

1986). And enrolment s t a t i s t i c s from these i n s t i t u t i o n s

i n d icate that distance education i n s t i t u t i o n s may be the

f a s t e s t growing a l t e r n a t i v e i n the post-secondary scene i n

Canada (AU Trends, #1, 1985; Tele-universite, 1986). While

i t i s true that distance education i n s t i t u t i o n s have removed

many of the t r a d i t i o n a l b a r r i e r s to adult p a r t i c i p a t i o n

which are c i t e d i n the l i t e r a t u r e , and the majority of d i s ­

tance learners are adults (Coldeway, 1982b, 1986; Holmberg,

3

1982), the r e s u l t s achieved by t h i s mode of study are not as

successful as o r i g i n a l l y hoped. Distance education univer­

s i t i e s throughout the world appear to have high a t t r i t i o n

rates r e l a t i v e to those of t r a d i t i o n a l u n i v e r s i t i e s (Losty

and Broderson, 1980; Shale, 1982; van Wijk, 1983; Holmberg,

1982) . The drop-out issue i s a major concern f o r distance

educators. Indeed, i t has been said that the rate of drop­

out constitutes the most s i g n i f i c a n t c r i t e r i o n f o r decisions

about improvements or changes to systems of distance educa­

t i o n (Rekkedal, 1981). At the most recent conferences of

the International Council of Distance Education (Vancouver,

1982, and Melbourne, 1985), a number of the papers given,

and much of the discussion among delegates focussed on the

d e s c r i p t i o n of the a t t r i t i o n problem and treatments f o r i t .

At i n s t i t u t i o n s such as Athabasca University, where

f l e x i b i l i t y and an open approach to education i s r e f l e c t e d

not only i n the use of distance distance teaching methods,

but also i n an open admissions p o l i c y , the problem of a t t r i ­

t i o n i s of even greater concern than at distance teaching

i n s t i t u t i o n s where t r a d i t i o n a l entrance requirements are

maintained. The ideals of an i n s t i t u t i o n such as Athabasca

Un i v e r s i t y must be balanced against the actual experience i t

provides f o r students. Currently, the a t t r i t i o n rate at

Athabasca i s approximately 56% across a l l courses (AU

Trends, #2, 1985, p. 6). I t has been said that there i s a

r i s k of the open door becoming a revolving door (Paul, 1986,

4

p. 138) where students are encouraged to enrol i n a course,

and then f i n d themselves unable to complete i t . C l e a r l y , i f

distance education i s to become a major shaping force i n

s o c i e t i e s a l l over the world, as suggested i n the preface to

Learning at a Distance (Daniel, Stroud, and Thompson, 1982),

the issue of a t t r i t i o n w i l l have to be examined i n much

greater d e t a i l so that the experience of students can be

more f u l l y understood, and treatments can be applied which

w i l l encourage students to p e r s i s t . As Finkel (1982) points

out, adult students should not have to balance the conveni­

ence of learning i n t h e i r own home against the l i k e l i h o o d of

f a i l u r e i f they choose distance education as t h e i r mode of

study.

Statement of Problem and Purpose of the Study

I t i s a dilemma, from an i n s t i t u t i o n a l perspective,

that so many distance education students choose not to con­

tinue toward a goal which they have chosen f o r themselves.

P a r t i c u l a r l y f o r i n s t i t u t i o n s such as Athabasca University

where there i s a strong commitment to the removal of bar­

r i e r s from the path of the adult learner, i t i s imperative

to f i n d out more about the experiences of students which

lead them to withdraw or p e r s i s t with t h e i r study.

The purpose of t h i s exploratory study i s to examine

students' experiences i n t h e i r homestudy courses, s p e c i f i ­

c a l l y , to f i n d out i f they can i d e n t i f y s i g n i f i c a n t concrete

5

incidents which e i t h e r f a c i l i t a t e or hinder t h e i r study, to

see what kinds of common experiences students report, and

hence to track the students' performance to f i n d i f experi­

ences reported by completers are d i f f e r e n t or s i m i l a r i n any

way to those of non-completers. The r e s u l t s of the study

w i l l be used to i d e n t i f y s i g n i f i c a n t factors which might

contribute to a t h e o r e t i c a l model of a t t r i t i o n and to pro­

pose retention strategies f o r the adult distance learner.

The information about students' experiences w i l l be

gathered using the C r i t i c a l Incident Technique developed by

John Flanagan (1954). I t i s an interview method f o r s o l i ­

c i t i n g concrete incidents which f a c i l i t a t e or hinder some

aim, i n t h i s case, course completion.

D e f i n i t i o n of Terms

De f i n i t i o n s are provided f o r the following terms

which are used i n p a r t i c u l a r ways i n t h i s study:

(1) Completion/Persistence - completing a l l requirements

and receiving a f i n a l grade i n a course-refers to the

behaviour of a student i n a single course, i e . : a

persister/completer.

(2) Attrition/Drop-Out/Non-Completion - e n r o l l i n g i n a

course but not completing the ent i r e course - r e f e r s to

the behaviour of a student i n a sing l e course, i e . : a

non-completer. I t includes a v a r i e t y of behaviours

6

such as v o l u n t a r i l y withdrawal, not s t a r t i n g , or stop­

ping part way through the course.

(3) Experience/Incident - a thought, f e e l i n g , an action, an

observation, or an event which i s i d e n t i f i a b l e by the

i n d i v i d u a l subject as having occurred.

(4) F a c i l i t a t e s - makes a difference to the planned outcome

or chosen goal i n a p o s i t i v e way.

(5) Hinders - makes a difference to the planned outcome or

chosen goal i n a negative way.

Research Questions and Rationale

Each year, as increasing numbers of adult students

choose distance education f o r t h e i r learning resource, i t

becomes more important that i n s t i t u t i o n s o f f e r them the best

opportunity f o r success. The ultimate r a t i o n a l e for t h i s

study i s to see how the data c o l l e c t e d might inform planning

for student support services i n a distance education i n s t i ­

t u t i o n . I f there are "avoidable" drop-outs, then s e l f -

reports of students should be valuable information which can

be applied to i n s t i t u t i o n a l strategies to reduce non-

completion.

7

This study addresses three questions i n t h i s regard:

(1) What experiences do students i d e n t i f y as being s i g n i f i ­

cant i n hindering or f a c i l i t a t i n g completion of a d i s ­

tance education course?

(2) Are the experiences of completers and non-completers

d i f f e r e n t or s i m i l a r i n any way?

(3) How can the self-reported experiences of distance

learners contribute to the development of a model of

a t t r i t i o n and retention strategies f o r distance educa­

t i o n students?

Setting

The study examines the a t t r i t i o n phenomenon at Atha­

basca University, a distance education i n s t i t u t i o n serving a

population of approximately 8,000 students across Canada

(primarily i n Alberta and B r i t i s h Columbia). Athabasca

Univ e r s i t y s p e c i a l i z e s i n distance education involving a

v a r i e t y of media, p r i m a r i l y p r i n t and telephone, but i n c l u d ­

ing audio and video tapes, t e l e v i s i o n , and teleconferencing.

The i n s t i t u t i o n currently o f f e r s baccalaureate degrees i n

arts and science, and administrative studies, as well as a

number of t r a n s f e r programs. Students are predominantly

working adults, and the majority are female. The only

admission requirement i s that a student be 18 years of age

or older. Students can enrol i n most courses at any time of

8

the year, and proceed at t h e i r own pace within s p e c i f i e d

timelines, (six months fo r a half-year or semester course

and twelve months fo r a f u l l - y e a r course).

A student who enrols i n a course receives a package

of i n s t r u c t i o n a l materials including textbooks, study

guides, student manual, and other aids depending on the

course and d i s c i p l i n e . The student i s also assigned to a

telephone tutor who i s a subject matter expert f o r that

course, and whom the student may consult by telephone on a

v a r i e t y of issues. The o v e r a l l a t t r i t i o n rate f o r Athabasca

Un i v e r s i t y courses i s approximately 56% (AU Trends, #2,

1985, p. 6). This rate i s consistent with that of other

i n s t i t u t i o n s of i t s type worldwide (Woodley and P a r l e t t ,

1983) .

Delimitations of Study

Although the 40 subjects i n the study were chosen at

random from selected courses, they turned out to be

representative of the t o t a l Athabasca Uni v e r s i t y population

i n a number of important ways. (See des c r i p t i o n of subjects

i n Chapter III.) The r e s u l t s , therefore, should be general­

i z a b l e to that population. Some caution should be used i n

generalizing the r e s u l t s across i n s t i t u t i o n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y

where there are major differences such as entrance require­

ments. As well i t should be noted that each year 60-70% of

Athabasca University student body are new enrolments (AU

9

Trends #3, 1986, p. 4). Most AU students take only one or

two courses (AU Trends, #3, 1986, p. 5). These students are

not seeking a degree with Athabasca, but rather are

interested only i n taking i n d i v i d u a l courses. Their

behaviour and motivations may be d i f f e r e n t from students who

are committed to a program of studies leading to a degree.

More comparison studies are needed before any conclusions

are reached i n t h i s regard. This research included both

program and non-program students.

Summary

A t t r i t i o n has been i d e n t i f i e d as a problem by educa­

t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s f o r some time. The most often asked

question i s 'why do students drop out?'. This may well be

an o v e r - s i m p l i f i c a t i o n of a very complicated process. Any

person, when asked to give 'reasons' f o r h i s or her

behaviour i n a given s i t u a t i o n , can usually produce a

r a t i o n a l l y based explanation that does not necessarily tap

the complex inte r p l a y of thoughts, fe e l i n g s , and actions

which occurred p r i o r to the incident and which were c r u c i a l

to the type of behaviour exhibited i n the s i t u a t i o n .

The study undertaken does not attempt to address

reasons why students drop out. I t does recognize that i f

students are to be successful at pursuing an educational

goal which they have chosen f o r themselves, they need to

know the things they do which are e f f e c t i v e and i n e f f e c t i v e ,

10

what things w i l l help them or hinder them i n a t t a i n i n g that

goal. From an i n s t i t u t i o n a l point of view, "the goal of

a t t r i t i o n research i s f i r s t to obtain as complete an under­

standing as possible, and then to apply t h i s knowledge to

designing programs aimed at lowering a t t r i t i o n " (Pantages

and Creedon, 1978, pp. 88-89). In order to propose counsel­

l i n g treatments, i t i s necessary to f i n d out what a c t u a l l y

hinders or f a c i l i t a t e s course completion from both the suc­

c e s s f u l and unsuccessful (in terms of course completion)

student's point of view.

11

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Introduction

There i s a great body of l i t e r a t u r e regarding a t t r i ­

t i o n . Four of the most recent and comprehensive reviews

have been c a r r i e d out by Tinto (1975), Pantages and Creedon

(1978), Lenning, Beal, and Sauer (1980), and Bean and

Metzner (1985). The f i r s t three reviews focus on younger

f u l l - t i m e students at r e s i d e n t i a l campuses. The l a t t e r

review by Bean and Metzner looks at older, part-time and

commuter students. A l l are extremely useful i n providing

t h e o r e t i c a l frameworks, c r i t i c i s m of research methodologies,

summaries of the major findings and conclusions about them,

as well as suggestions f o r improving retention.

Research and writing about a t t r i t i o n of adult part-

time students, p a r t i c u l a r l y those studying at a distance, i s

a r e l a t i v e l y recent phenomenon. One of the reasons for t h i s

i s that high a t t r i t i o n has been both expected and accepted

as a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of distance study. As Daniel and Mar­

quis (1979) noted, "... when correspondence schools began,

the idea of s u r v i v a l of the f i t t e s t was more acceptable than

i t i s today..." However, more t r a d i t i o n a l p u b l i c l y funded

educational i n s t i t u t i o n s , such as u n i v e r s i t i e s , have now

12

entered the f i e l d of distance education. These i n s t i t u t i o n s

have a vested i n t e r e s t i n student retention, and have

direc t e d resources toward studying and solving the drop-out

problem. Retention of students has become one of the lead­

ing issues f o r distance education p r a c t i t i o n e r s , and a

number of studies have been c a r r i e d out over the past few

years.

Problems with Defining A t t r i t i o n and Retention

The main body of research and l i t e r a t u r e regarding

drop-out r e f e r s to dropping out of a program of studies (eg.

one year c e r t i f i c a t e , two year diploma, four year degree).

D e f i n i t i o n s of retention most often r e f e r to completing

these programs i n the prescribed amount of time (Lenning et

a l . , 1980). This d e f i n i t i o n i s obviously inappropriate for

any student who i s not studying f u l l - t i m e i n a program. A

new term 'stopping out' i s used to describe the behaviour of

a temporary drop out who completes a program i n longer than

the prescribed time. A few studies have shown that t h i s

behaviour i s more common among f u l l - t i m e students than pre­

v i o u s l y thought, and can sometimes increase the chances of

eventual graduation (Lenning et a l . , 1980).

With the increasing numbers of part-time adult stu­

dents, i t i s necessary to develop new d e f i n i t i o n s of reten­

t i o n and a t t r i t i o n . Bean and Metzner (1985), i n an attempt

to provide a d e f i n i t i o n for "drop-out" appropriate to adult

13

students, described i t as someone "who e n r o l l s at an i n s t i ­

t u t i o n one semester but does not e n r o l l the next semester

and has not completed h i s or her formally declared program

of study." (p. 489). They acknowledged that stop-outs would

not be d i f f e r e n t i a t e d from drop-outs using t h i s d e f i n i t i o n .

Lenning et a l . , (1980) proposed that a generic d e f i n i t i o n of

retention was "success i n achieving some goal or objective".

This d e f i n i t i o n , while i t more c l e a r l y explains what a t t r i ­

t i o n i s , i s not very useful f o r research purposes. Obvi­

ously, goals and objectives of students w i l l d i f f e r by

i n s t i t u t i o n , and by i n d i v i d u a l . Some i n s t i t u t i o n s have

developed t h e i r own d e f i n i t i o n of a t t r i t i o n and retention

based on i n s t i t u t i o n a l and student c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s .

A study by Shale (1982) of a t t r i t i o n at Athabasca

Univ e r s i t y (AU) was successful i n c l e a r l y defining 'drop­

out' at that i n s t i t u t i o n . Shale used a t t r i t i o n and comple­

t i o n to describe the behaviour of a student i n a s i n g l e

course and defined drop-out as a student "who enroled i n an

AU course but d i d not successfully complete the ent i r e

course (or portion contracted f o r ) " , (p. 114). He observed

that d e f i n i t i o n s of dropping out of programs were l a r g e l y

inappropriate f o r Athabasca University students since com­

p l e t i o n of a f u l l degree program was seldom c i t e d by AU stu­

dents as t h e i r goal upon entry. In a more recent study of

a t t r i t i o n at Athabasca University (AU Trends, #2, 1985) the

author cautioned against presupposing "that a l l AU students

14

enrol i n AU courses with the aim of gaining c r e d i t s " . (p.

1). He went on to suggest that even though students might

show up on the u n i v e r s i t y records as having withdrawn from a

course, they might have very well met t h e i r own goals.

Cl e a r l y , caution must be exercised i n defining

drop-out f o r research studies. I f the purpose of the

research i s to improve retention, i n s t i t u t i o n s are perhaps

best to define a t t r i t i o n and retention according to t h e i r

own student populations, taking into consideration students'

motives f o r study and t h e i r usual patterns of behaviour i n

moving through courses and/or programs. At the same time,

i t should be noted that usefulness to other researchers and

educators i s an important consideration i n developing a

d e f i n i t i o n . Pantages and Creedon (1978) pointed out some of

the d i f f i c u l t i e s i n defining a t t r i t i o n and retention, and

stated that "combining the findings from separate studies

depends, i n part, on how a t t r i t i o n was operationally defined

i n those studies". (p. 51).

Student C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s Related to A t t r i t i o n

Demographic c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , s c h o l a s t i c s records and

aptitudes, personality and motivational factors, and finan­

c i a l s i t u a t i o n s of students have a l l been examined to f i n d

p r edictor v a r i a b l e s f o r student success. Some d i r e c t r e l a ­

tionships have been found, but must be used with caution.

C o n f l i c t i n g reports are common. For example, while several

15

studies reviewed by Pantages and Creedon (1978) showed that

older freshman were le s s l i k e l y that t h e i r younger counter­

parts to complete a f u l l - t i m e four year degree program, stu­

dies of si n g l e course completions at Athabasca University

(AU Trends, #2, 1985) showed a strong trend i n the opposite

d i r e c t i o n . This kind of difference i n r e s u l t s of studies of

student c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s as predictor variables f o r success

points out the f a l l a b i l i t y of single v a r i a b l e correlates of

drop-out, and the importance of taking contextual variables

into consideration.

Another caution i n looking at studies of the r e l a ­

t i o n s h i p between student c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and a t t r i t i o n i s

that many of the studies have focused only on descriptions

of c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of one group, drop-outs or p e r s i s t e r s ,

with no comparison group (Pantages and Creedon, 1978).

Recent findings show that there may be considerable s i m i l a r ­

i t y between the two groups. A study of a t t r i t i o n i n the

Regents External Degree Program (Taylor, 1983) which com­

pared c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of ina c t i v e students to active and

graduate students found that with the exception of gender,

the groups d i d not vary greatly.

Demographic Factors

Both the Lenning et a l . (1980), and Pantages and

Creedon (1978) reviews concluded that there was enough con­

f l i c t i n g data to say that generally speaking, age was not a

16

primary fa c t o r i n a t t r i t i o n . The same reviews turned up

s i m i l a r findings f o r sex. Again, there may be differences

between the sexes depending upon context, and there i s some

evidence that the reasons men and women give f o r dropping

out may be d i f f e r e n t , but sex i s not considered a s i g n i f i ­

cant v a r i a b l e except as other factors are taken into con­

s i d e r a t i o n .

The same r e s u l t s do not appear to be true f o r d i s ­

tance education students. In recent studies completed at

Athabasca Uni v e r s i t y (AU Trends, #2, 1985), there was a

d e f i n i t e c o r r e l a t i o n between age of student and success

rates. Just over one-third of students under the age of 25

suc c e s s f u l l y completed t h e i r courses while over one-half of

those 35 and over successfully completed t h e i r s . Sex was

also found to be a predictor v a r i a b l e . About 50% of women

completed, compared with 38% of men. Woodley and P a r l e t t

(1983) produced s i m i l a r findings. Men dropped out of Open

Univ e r s i t y courses more frequently than women, and students

over the age of 30 had better success rates than younger

students. Bartels (1982) also found at the FernUniversitat

i n Germany that drop-out was highest among distance educa­

t i o n students under the age of 25. On the other hand, he

reported that women students discontinued t h e i r studies more

frequently than men i n that i n s t i t u t i o n .

Socioeconomic status was recognized by both the Pan­

tages and Creedon (1978) and Lenning et a l . (1980) reviews

17

as a f a c t o r commonly believed to have a r e l a t i o n to a t t r i ­

t i o n . They also agreed that research r e s u l t s were not con­

c l u s i v e . Socioeconomic status i s based on and r e l a t e d to so

many other factors, i t i s d i f f i c u l t to i s o l a t e as a v a r i ­

able. Tinto (1975), i n h i s review of the l i t e r a t u r e , con­

cluded that there was an inverse r e l a t i o n s h i p between family

socioeconomic status and drop-out, but that socioeconomic

status had many associated factors which might p a r t i a l l y or

wholly account f o r t h i s . For example, Hackman and Dysinger

(c i t e d i n Tinto, 1975) had shown that the family's expecta­

tions f o r achievement emerged as being j u s t as important as

the student's expectations i n influencing persistence. Len­

ning et a l . (1980) stated that "the best conclusion may be

that students of d i s t i n c t l y disadvantaged status are more

prone to a t t r i t i o n but the operating variables may be l e v e l

of f a m i l i a l a s p i r a t i o n , educational l e v e l of parents, per­

sonal educational aspirations, and involvement with the c o l ­

lege", (p. 116).

In a study of distance education students at the

Open Un i v e r s i t y i n B r i t a i n , Woodley and P a r l e t t (1983) found

that there were p a r t i c u l a r l y high drop-out rates among new

students by those i n manual occupations, the r e t i r e d , and

the unemployed, and those i n i n s t i t u t i o n s such as prisons

and h o s p i t a l s . This pattern, although l e s s marked, was the

same for continuing students. Woodley and P a r l e t t d i d not

speculate about factors associated with occupation, but

18

rather took the findings at face value along with a number

of other c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , and concluded that i t i s possible

to i d e n t i f y 'high r i s k ' students upon entry. I t appears

from some of the differences i n conclusions among i n s t i t u ­

t i o n s , about who i s 'at r i s k ' , that the i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i s

best done on an i n s t i t u t i o n a l basis.

Academic Factors

Scholastic measures of a l l kinds, secondary school

standings, academic aptitude, previous academic background,

and l e v e l achieved, have a l l been studied as correlates of

persistence i n post-secondary studies. Pantages and Creedon

(1978) stated that while such measures had been found to be

the most s i g n i f i c a n t and consistent predictors of a t t r i t i o n ,

they s t i l l only accounted f o r a small proportion of t o t a l

drop-outs. They went on to say that s c h o l a s t i c aptitude

measures were better predictors of achievement than per­

sistence. Tinto (1975) also acknowledged that most studies

had shown a d i r e c t p o s i t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n between past perfor­

mance and achievement i n post-secondary studies, but noted

that achievement was not the same as persistence. He specu­

la t e d that a student's perception of h i s or her own a b i l i t y

based on past experience could influence expectations for

college education, and consequently commitment to the goal

of completion. Lenning et a l . (1980) noted that, although

most studies showed a s i g n i f i c a n t , p o s i t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p

between persistence and entrance examination scores,

19

students who dropped out v o l u n t a r i l y also t y p i c a l l y had

scores which predicted success i n college. A major review

of student a t t r i t i o n at federal service academies i n the

United States (Department of Defense, Commerce, and Tran­

sportation, 1976) concluded s i m i l a r l y that while combining

measures of s p e c i f i c a b i l i t i e s into an o v e r a l l measure of

a b i l i t y provided the best predictor of who would leave t h e i r

studies, none of these c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s had been found to be

r e l a t e d to voluntary resignation due to lack of motivation.

A number of studies of adult distance learners have

shown that, generally, the lower a person's previous educa­

t i o n a l q u a l i f i c a t i o n s , the more l i k e l y he or she i s to

drop-out (Woodley and P a r l e t t , 1983; AU Trends, #2, 1985;

Bartels, 1982). Kennedy and Powell (1976) used r e s u l t s of a

study done at the Open University i n B r i t a i n to show that

"lack of academic preparedness does seem to be a major fac­

t o r i n many cases i n increasing the pressures upon a stu­

dents 1 time and energy". They pointed out that "... while

the majority of students possessing lower q u a l i f i c a t i o n s do

not drop-out expressly f o r academic reasons, r e l a t i v e l y more

of them do so than t h e i r better q u a l i f i e d counterparts".

(P. 69).

Another important academic factor r e l a t e d to per­

sistence i s study habits. These may or may not be t i e d to

previous l e v e l of education achieved. However, i t i s l i k e l y

that i f an i n d i v i d u a l has already suc c e s s f u l l y achieved

20

progressively high l e v e l s of education, that he or she has

developed study habits which are b e n e f i c i a l . Pantages and

Creedon (1978) pointed to study habits as one of the obvious

factors a f f e c t i n g persistence. They c i t e d research reports

which measured the amount of time spent on studies, and i n

which students rated t h e i r own study habits. In a l l cases,

good study habits and/or greater numbers of study hours

p o s i t i v e l y correlated with persistence. Lenning et a l .

(1980) reported i d e n t i c a l conclusions i n t h e i r review. Bar-

t e l s (1982) found the same p o s i t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n between time

spent studying and persistence f o r distance education stu­

dents at the FernUniversitat. As well, quite a number of

studies have shown that there i s a d i r e c t r e l a t i o n s h i p

between getting started on a homestudy course immediately

and completion of the course (see, f o r example, D i S i l v e s t r o

and Markowitz, 1982). There appears to be no question that

study habits have a d i r e c t impact on persistence f o r a l l

students.

Motivational Factors

Pantages and Creedon (1978) i d e n t i f i e d a number of

motivational factors which have been studied i n r e l a t i o n to

college persistence. These include motivational l e v e l and

commitment, reasons f o r attending, occupational goals, edu­

c a t i o n a l i n t e r e s t , and family and peer group influence.

They noted that these factors were among the most common

reasons given by students f o r taking a decision to drop-out,

21

but went on to say that although studies had shown a r e l a ­

t i o n between motivational factors and a t t r i t i o n , no one had

yet determined which, i f any, of the factors were p r e d i c t i v e

or how they could be measured. Pantages and Creedon con­

cluded that i t j u s t might be that motivational factors were

f a r l e s s important i n determining persistence than had been

assumed. Boshier (1978) s i m i l a r l y found that the r e l a t i o n ­

ship between motives fo r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n and drop-out from

adult education was s l i g h t and generally i n s i g n i f i c a n t . He

cautioned the use of s i n g l e v a r i a b l e explanations of drop­

out f o r p r e d i c t i v e purposes.

From t h e i r reviews, Lenning et a l . (1980) reported

evidence contradicting Pantages and Creedon. P o s i t i v e

c o r r e l a t i o n s were found between persistence and three

motivational factors: l e v e l of degree aspirat i o n , commit­

ment, and peer group influence. However, Tinto (1978) came

to conclusions s i m i l a r to Pantages and Creedon i n h i s

review. Both Pantages and Creedon (1978) and Lenning et a l .

(1980) reported a p o s i t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p between an expecta­

t i o n to drop-out at entry and actual a t t r i t i o n . I t may be

concluded that although motivational factors are d i f f i c u l t

to i s o l a t e and measure, and have l i m i t e d usefulness as s i n ­

gle v a r i a b l e predictors, there appears to be a r e l a t i o n s h i p

between these factors and a t t r i t i o n which may become impor­

tant i n the context of other d i f f i c u l t i e s with study.

22

Personality Factors

Pantages and Creedon (1978) suggested, a f t e r review­

ing a number of studies which reported nonsignificant f i n d ­

ings, that personality factors were not important i n per­

sistence and a t t r i t i o n . They pointed to evidence that

researchers had not distinguished between types of drop­

outs, and that negative t r a i t s generally ascribed drop-outs

were more those of students who had been required to with­

draw than those of students who had withdrawn v o l u n t a r i l y .

Pantages and Creedon also pointed out the weakness of the

measurement instruments available, and the i n a b i l i t y of

t e s t s "to i s o l a t e major psychological c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s that

w i l l be useful f o r p r e d i c t i o n of persistence or withdrawal",

(p. 74). They concluded that even i f there were not meas­

urement problems, that there very well might not be a s i g n i ­

f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between personality factors and a t t r i ­

t i o n . Tinto (1975), also concluded that the important d i s ­

t i n c t i o n between voluntary withdrawals and academic dismis­

s a l s must be made, and that, i n many respects, the personal­

i t y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of voluntary leavers were s i m i l a r to

those of p e r s i s t e r s . He did point out that voluntary with­

drawals tended to manifest greater o v e r s e n s i t i v i t y and ego­

tism than any other group, and speculated that t h i s could

a f f e c t successful s o c i a l integration at t h e i r post-secondary

i n s t i t u t i o n .

23

Lenning et a l . (1980) disagreed somewhat with Pan­

tages and Creedon's conclusions about personality factors

and a t t r i t i o n . They stated that the shortcomings of meas­

urement instruments d i d not make personality factors any

l e s s important i n r e l a t i o n to a t t r i t i o n and persistence. To

support t h e i r conclusions, they pointed to Holland's work i n

the area of personality type and environmental f i t , and i t s

a p p l i c a t i o n to a t t r i t i o n .

There i s t r u t h i n both arguments. While Pantages

and Creedon were probably correct i n saying that personality

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s are of l i m i t e d value as sing l e v a r i a b l e

predictors, Lenning et a l . were equally correct i n conclud­

ing that, when personality factors were studied i n r e l a t i o n

to i n s t i t u t i o n a l f i t , they became quite important factors i n

persistence. A study of drop-out from m i l i t a r y academies

(Department of Defense, Commerce, and Transportation, 1976)

found p r e c i s e l y t h i s kind of p e r s o n a l i t y / i n s t i t u t i o n a l f i t

r e l a t i o n s h i p . For example, those students with a higher

need f o r deference and authority were more l i k e l y to p e r s i s t

i n m i l i t a r y academies than those students with a high need

f o r autonomy. Kennedy and Powell (1976), i n t h e i r study of

drop-outs at the Open University i n B r i t a i n , also maintained

that personality c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s were important, but only i n

context of circumstances. They proposed a two-dimensional

model to look at how students with "strong" and "weak"

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s might react to varying circumstances.

24

Summary: Student C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s

There i s strong evidence to suggest that i n s t i t u ­

t i o n s can i d e n t i f y high r i s k students, that there are some

r e l i a b l e predictor variables f o r persistence. I t i s equally

evident that these are contextual. In other words, a stu­

dent who may p e r s i s t i n one i n s t i t u t i o n may not do so i n

another. By studying c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e i r p e r s i s t e r s

and drop-outs, a p a r t i c u l a r i n s t i t u t i o n may well be able to

discover i n s t i t u t i o n a l factors which are helping or hinder­

ing t h e i r students. Care must be taken to d i s t i n g u i s h

between voluntary withdrawals and forced withdrawals, and

between temporary and permanent withdrawals.

I n s t i t u t i o n a l C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s Related to A t t r i t i o n

As each student has i n d i v i d u a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s which

are important i n the a t t r i t i o n / p e r s i s t e n c e equation, so does

each i n s t i t u t i o n . Pantages and Creedon (1978) noted that

t h i s had been recognized only since about 1960. Before

that, the i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment or culture was never

considered a v a r i a b l e . They pointed out that i n s t i t u t i o n s

not only attempt to a f f e c t change i n a p a r t i c u l a r d i r e c t i o n

i n the student, but they also begin by a t t r a c t i n g or

r e c r u i t i n g a p a r t i c u l a r kind of student, thereby influencing

the a t t r i t i o n rate from the beginning. For example, an open

distance education u n i v e r s i t y which a t t r a c t s the part-time

adult student who has been away from studies f o r quite a

25

number of years, has rusty study s k i l l s , no post-secondary

experience, a f u l l - t i m e job and a family, i s probably s t a r t ­

ing with a student population which many i n s t i t u t i o n s would

c a l l 'high r i s k 1 .

There are a number of i n s t i t u t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s

which have been found to have some r e l a t i o n s h i p to a t t r i ­

t i o n . Most recent a t t r i t i o n research favors i n t e r a c t i o n a l

models which examine how the student, i n s t i t u t i o n , and

environmental factors come together to produce a p a r t i c u l a r

r e s u l t . A number of studies c i t e d by Pantages and Creedon

(1978) and Lenning et a l . (1980) support the ' i n s t i t u t i o n a l

f i t ' theory. These looked at the match between student

needs and personality, and at i n s t i t u t i o n a l a b i l i t y to meet

the student's needs and to present an image sui t a b l e to the

student's personality. I n s t i t u t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s were

also an important factor i n Tinto's (1975) theory of student

a t t r i t i o n . He began with Durkheim's theory of suicide to

develop a theory of drop-out which viewed an i n d i v i d u a l ' s

i n t e r a c t i o n s with both academic and s o c i a l systems of an

i n s t i t u t i o n as determinants of personal goal commitments as

well as commitments to the educational i n s t i t u t i o n . The

i n d i v i d u a l ' s experiences i n the system "continually modify

hi s or her goal and i n s t i t u t i o n a l commitments i n ways which

lead to persistence and/or to varying forms of drop-out".

(p. 94). Spady (1971) also proposed a model of drop-out

which emphasized i n s t i t u t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . He sup-

26

ported e a r l i e r research which spoke of an "environmental

press", r e f e r r i n g to the demands which an i n s t i t u t i o n places

upon a student. In Spady's view, " f u l l i ntegration into the

common l i f e of the college depends on suc c e s s f u l l y meeting

the demands of both i t s s o c i a l and academic systems". (p.

39). Tinto's and Spady's theories w i l l be discussed further

under the section on "Theoretical Models of A t t r i t i o n " .

In a comparison study of distance education i n s t i t u ­

t i o ns i n Germany and Sweden, Bartels and Willen (1985)

pointed out how the p r e v a i l i n g attitudes within an i n s t i t u ­

t i o n toward such issues as a t t r i t i o n had an impact on how

the i n s t i t u t i o n measures and dealt with the problem, and

could p a r t i a l l y account f o r "divergent drop-out s t a t i s t i c s " .

Some of the i n s t i t u t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s which have been

studied are reviewed below.

Size/Image/Status

Pantages and Creedon (1978) reported that there was

some evidence to suggest that smaller i n s t i t u t i o n s had lower

o v e r a l l a t t r i t i o n rates. This supports the notion that f r e ­

quent contact with f a c u l t y and fellow students promotes per­

sistence. Pantages and Creedon concluded, as d i d Tinto

(1975), that s i z e was related to a t t r i t i o n but " i n a manner

yet unclear". (p. 115). Lenning et a l . (1980) reported

high retention rates at more prestigious i n s t i t u t i o n s with a

high cost of attending, and speculated that t h i s might be

27

due to perceived benefits on the part of the student, and

the type of student admitted. They also reported research

which showed greater persistence at p r i v a t e l y funded i n s t i ­

t utions, those with r e l i g i o u s a f f i l i a t i o n s , and those with a

c l e a r l y defined mission statement which was communicated to

students and other constituents.

Housing

Pantages and Creedon (1978) and Lenning et a l .

(1980) both reported that i t had been shown consistently

that students who l i v e d on campus were much more l i k e l y to

p e r s i s t i n t h e i r studies. Pantages and Creedon speculated

that l i v i n g i n student residences might f a c i l i t a t e s o c i a l

i n t e g r a t i o n into campus l i f e and promote feel i n g s of s a t i s ­

f a c t i o n with the i n s t i t u t i o n .

Student-Faculty Interaction

According to Pantages and Creedon (1978), "the qual­

i t y of the r e l a t i o n s h i p between a student and h i s or her

professors i s of c r u c i a l importance i n determining s a t i s f a c ­

t i o n with the i n s t i t u t i o n " . (p. 79). Lenning et a l . (1980)

reported that t h e i r review supported t h i s statement. Tinto

(1975) stressed the importance of student i n t e r a c t i o n with

f a c u l t y to both s o c i a l and academic integration of the stu­

dent and the consequent enhancement of i n s t i t u t i o n a l commit­

ment. He c a l l e d f a c u l t y i n t e r a c t i o n an important " s o c i a l

reward" f o r the student. Pascarella and Terenzini (1979b)

28

found that when they co n t r o l l e d f o r other variables,

student/faculty contact s t i l l had s i g n i f i c a n t c o r r e l a t i o n

with students' decisions to withdraw or p e r s i s t . In t h i s

study, Pascarella and Terenzini focussed on informal contact

outside of the classroom. They found that there were

male/female differences i n response to the content of i n f o r ­

mal discussions, but the e f f e c t f o r both sexes was greatest

when discussions focussed on i n t e l l e c t u a l or course related

matters.

A number of studies of distance education students

have pointed to the importance of tutor i n t e r a c t i o n as a

facto r i n persistence (Flinck, 1978; Rekkedal, 1981; Woodley

and P a r l e t t , 1983; Kennedy and Powell, 1976; Sweet, 1982;

Phythian and Clements, 1982). Sweet (1982) investigated the

personal contacts which students had with t h e i r tutors

through the telephone tutoring system at the Open Learning

I n s t i t u t e i n B r i t i s h Columbia. He found a s i m i l a r pattern

and frequency of s t u d e n t - i n i t i a t e d c a l l s from both com­

pl e t e r s and non-completers, and also found that both groups

co n s i s t e n t l y gave p o s i t i v e ratings to t h e i r tutors. Sweet

concluded "... that tutors have been successful i n creating

a climate of supportiveness f o r t h e i r students — both com­

pl e t e r s and non-completers". (p. 8). He pointed out that

telephone tutors i n distance education i n s t i t u t i o n s are

i d e a l l y situated to provide the kind of feedback to students

which Pascarella and Terenzini (1979b) found contributed

29

most to persistence, that i s , contacts focusing on i n t e l l e c ­

t u a l or course re l a t e d materials. Since i n the distance

learning s i t u a t i o n , i n s t r u c t i o n i s embodied i n the printed

package, tutors can spend more time than t h e i r classroom

counterparts on providing personal feedback to each student

about h i s or her academic progress. The tutor also plays a

c e n t r a l r o l e at Athabasca University. The r e s u l t s of i n d i ­

v i d u a l learner tracking as part of the REDEAL project showed

a r e l a t i o n s h i p between learner motivation and frequent con­

t a c t with tutors (Coldeway, MacRury, and Spencer, 1980).

There i s no doubt that student/faculty i n t e r a c t i o n

i s an important factor i n persistence and a t t r i t i o n . I t i s

equally obvious that not a l l i n t e r a c t i o n i s perceived as

p o s i t i v e . As Sweet (1982) stated "... effectiveness of

these exchanges as i n s t r u c t i o n a l feedback i s enhanced to the

extent that i n s t r u c t o r s are responsive and supportive i n

t h e i r i n t e r a c t i o n s with students". (p. 8). Rekkedal (1981)

also recognized the need fo r the tutor to have a broader

r o l e i n providing "counselling" as well as academic support

to the student. He proposed to combine these rol e s , and

introduce a "personal tutor/counsellor" into the distance

education system.

Student Support Services

Although "... the majority of the recommendations

for reducing a t t r i t i o n have been concerned with enlarging

30

the r o l e and scope of counselling services f o r students ..."

(Pantages and Creedon, 1978, p. 89), r e l a t i v e l y l i t t l e

evaluative research has been done to f i n d out what the

e f f e c t s of student services are on persistence and a t t r i ­

t i o n . Pantages and Creedon (1978) reported that studies

which have been conducted on the impact of counselling pro­

grams show that there was a s i g n i f i c a n t r e s u l t i n reducing

a t t r i t i o n rates f o r those students who had some contact with

the services. Lenning et a l . (1980) also found that coun­

s e l l i n g services could increase persistence. However, they

noted that research also showed that many students did not

use counselling and other student services, and that a

number of studies had recommended better p u b l i c i t y and com­

munication. They also commented on the e f f i c a c y of academic

advising, o r i e n t a t i o n programs, and learning assistance pro­

grams i n reducing a t t r i t i o n .

Not enough research e x i s t s to reach any conclusions

about other services such as career planning and placements,

foreign student programs, f i n a n c i a l a i d advising, and d i s ­

abled student services. In distance education, where stu­

dent services such as advising, counselling, and student

advocacy "are only beginning to be seen as an important part

of learners educational experience" (McKinnis-Rankin and

Brindley, 1986, p. 60), there has been almost no research on

the impact of student support services outside of those

offered by tutors and other academics. Both Rekkedal

31

(1981), and Daniel and Marquis (1979) noted that very few

distance education i n s t i t u t i o n s had employed professional

counsellors or formalized the counselling function.

Other I n s t i t u t i o n a l Factors i n Distance Education

A number of other factors which contribute to a t t r i ­

t i o n , and are p a r t i c u l a r to distance education were i d e n t i ­

f i e d by Woodley and P a r l e t t (1983). These included badly

designed course packages (boring, unclear, heavy workload

for number of c r e d i t s , l e v e l of d i f f i c u l t y inappropriate),

courses where content did not l i v e up to expectations

created by the course description, mandatory t e l e v i s i o n and

radio broadcasts which caused a c c e s s i b i l i t y d i f f i c u l t i e s ,

and slow turn-around-time on the marking of assignments.

Holmberg (1982) also reported s p e c i f i c a l l y on the c o r r e l a ­

t i o n between turn-around-time and course completion, and

Bartels (1982) commented on the tendency f o r course authors

to write using t h e i r colleagues at other u n i v e r s i t i e s rather

than students as t h e i r target group.

Peer Group Influence

The l i t e r a t u r e suggests a strong c o r r e l a t i o n between

peer group influence and a t t r i t i o n for the 18-24 year old

t r a d i t i o n a l student. Tinto (1975) concluded that, even i f

the p e r s o n / i n s t i t u t i o n f i t was not i d e a l , s o c i a l integration

leading to persistence could s t i l l be attained through suf­

f i c i e n t friendship support from others with l i k e values.

32

Pantages and Creedon (1978) discussed the important r o l e

which a peer group played i n developing attitudes associated

with persistence. Lenning et a l . (1980) also concluded that

peer group influence was strongly r e l a t e d to persistence,

p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the development of educational values.

For the adult part-time student, peer group i n f l u ­

ence i s also important (Bean and Metzner, 1985), but the

peer group i s often not associated with the educational

i n s t i t u t i o n . This i s p a r t i c u l a r l y the case f o r distance

education students. For t h i s reason, peer influence w i l l be

addressed further i n the following sections on "External

Environmental Factors Related to A t t r i t i o n " and "Reasons fo r

Drop-Out Provided by Students."

External Environmental Factors Related to A t t r i t i o n

Environmental factors have not been c i t e d as major

vari a b l e s influencing a t t r i t i o n f o r younger students engaged

i n f u l l - t i m e study. Lenning et a l . (1980) mentioned only

three external variables i n t h e i r review: economic cycles,

m i l i t a r y d r a f t , and s o c i a l forces. On the other hand, Bean

and Metzner (1985) emphasized the impact of factors i n the

external environment on the a t t r i t i o n rates of older part-

time students, and developed a conceptual model to r e f l e c t

t h i s emphasis. They included such factors as finances,

hours of employment, outside encouragement, family responsi­

b i l i t i e s , and opportunity to t r a n s f e r to other i n s t i t u t i o n s .

33

Rekkedal (1981) concluded that the most common rea­

sons f o r students dropping distance study were not inherent

i n the study method, but rather concerned the same d i f f i c u l ­

t i e s which a l l adult part-time students face, namely compet­

ing demands for t h e i r time and energy, and unforeseen

changes i n t h e i r circumstances. Woodley and P a r l e t t (1983)

reported s i m i l a r findings. I t should be noted that both of

these studies r e l i e d on reports from drop-outs, and that

many researchers believe reasons f o r drop-out provided by

students tend to be r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n s or o v e r s i m p l i f i c a t i o n s

of a complex process (Phythian and Clements, 1982; Kennedy

and Powell, 1976).

The following are the factors associated with the

environment outside of the educational i n s t i t u t i o n which are

mostly commonly associated with a t t r i t i o n .

F i n a n c i a l Factors

Lenning et a l . (1980) noted that lack of finances i s

often given as a reason for dropping out. They pointed out

that studies with younger f u l l - t i m e students have shown a

p o s i t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n between the extent to which the student

perceives a problem (regardless of the actual s i t u a t i o n ) ,

and a t t r i t i o n . They reported that the amount and type of

f i n a n c i a l a i d was also r e l a t e d to persistence, and s u r p r i s ­

ingly, that part-time employment had a p o s i t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n

with persistence.

34

Beal and Metzner (1985) noted i n t h e i r review con­

cerning older part-time students that adult students

reported concern over finances as often as younger students,

and that part-time students mentioned f i n a n c i a l d i f f i c u l t y

as frequently as f u l l - t i m e students as a reason f o r with­

drawal from studies. They also reported that f u l l - t i m e

employment or employment i n excess of 20-25 hours per week

was negatively r e l a t e d to persistence and that more older

students than younger students f e l l into t h i s employment

category. Both Rekkedal (1981) and Woodley and P a r l e t t

(1983) c i t e d lack of finances and demands of employment as

important factors i n drop-out from distance education stu­

dies.

Outside Encouragement

External support and encouragement to study provided

by f r i e n d s , family, and employers i s thought to be one of

the c r i t i c a l factors i n persistence f o r the adult part-time

student since t h e i r reference group tends to be o f f campus

rather than on (Bean and Metzner, 1985) However, not enough

research e x i s t s as yet to make the kind of d e f i n i t i v e state­

ments which are possible about younger students and the

p o s i t i v e impact of parental encouragement on t h e i r a t t r i t i o n

rates.

Distance education students have consistently

reported lack of encouragement from family, p a r t i c u l a r l y a

35

spouse, and/or lack of support from employer as reasons f o r

dropping studies (Woodley and P a r l e t t , 1983; van Wijk, 1983;

Bartels, 1982). Encouragement, i n such cases, may mean more

than psychological support. Pragmatic forms of support such

as a spouse taking over household duties, or an employer

reimbursing the cost of course or giving time o f f f o r exami­

nations are reported by distance education students as being

important to persistence.

Change i n Circumstances

Change i n circumstances i s r a r e l y , i f ever, men­

tioned i n the l i t e r a t u r e regarding drop-out by younger

f u l l - t i m e students, but i s consistently mentioned with

regard to adult part-time students. The r o l e of student i s

often a minor one f o r the adult learner. Study commitment

must compete with demands from family, work, friends, and

community, and often studies get set aside i f there i s a

change i n circumstances which upsets the balance. Woodley

and P a r l e t t (1983) l i s t i l l n e s s of a r e l a t i v e , change i n

marital status, g i v i n g b i r t h , moving house, change i n work

hours or workload, and changing or s t a r t i n g employment as

some of the factors which can influence persistence i n a

negative way. This i s discussed further i n the following

section, "Reasons f o r Drop-Out Provided by Students".

36

Reasons f o r Drop-Out Provided by Students

Although there i s a great deal of l i t e r a t u r e i n

which students describe t h e i r reasons f o r dropping out,

there i s some debate about the r e l a t i v e s i g n i f i c a n c e of the

information. The most common c r i t i c i s m i s that reasons f o r

withdrawal provided by students are probably r a t i o n a l i z a ­

t i o n s , given that there are negative connotations associated

with drop-out (Kennedy and Powell, 1976), and that reasons

are usually given i n retrospect, not at the time of the

decision to drop. Another c r i t i c i s m i s that unidimensional

reasons tend to over-simplify what i s probably a very com­

plex i n t e r p l a y of variables as already described i n t h i s

chapter. As well, i t has been suggested that students may

not t o t a l l y understand t h e i r own motivations (Lenning et

a l . , 1980). Notwithstanding these cautions, the reasons for

withdrawal provided by students have to be considered an

important piece of the a t t r i t i o n puzzle. As Lenning et a l .

pointed out, the reasons given by students were part of the

development of t h e i r personal drop-out r a t i o n a l e s , and as

such, i n s t i t u t i o n s could learn from them. The same

ra t i o n a l e may be operating f o r other students who may become

drop-outs given a p a r t i c u l a r set of circumstance. For exam­

ple, Woodley and P a r l e t t (1983) quoted from a student at the

Open University, "Work pressures meant that I had le s s time

f o r Open Unive r s i t y study — but I guess that I would s t i l l

have stuck with the course i f I had found i t more i n t e r e s t -

37

ing". (p. 8). The reasons f o r drop-out c i t e d by students

have been given with such consistency that broad c l a s s i f i c a ­

t i o n s have been developed. However, as Pantages and Creedon

(1978) noted, these are of varying importance depending on

student and i n s t i t u t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . The most common

of the standard categories of reasons which students provide

f o r dropping out follow.

Academic Reasons/Dissatisfaction with I n s t i t u t i o n

The most frequently stated reasons f o r drop-out

among young f u l l - t i m e students have to do with academic con­

cerns: d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n with matters such as course a v a i l a ­

b i l i t y , curriculum, scheduling, grades, and degree regula­

ti o n s (Lenning et a l . , 1980). In two studies of drop-outs

from distance education courses c i t e d by Woodley and P a r l e t t

(1983), l e s s than 30% of students referred to study problems

caused by the form and content of the courses. In fact,

there i s much evidence to show that adult students, rather

than holding the i n s t i t u t i o n accountable i n any way, often

blame themselves f o r non-completion (Bartels, 1982). This

can be p a r t i c u l a r l y true for distance educations students

who do not usually know fellow students with whom they can

compare experiences.

F i n a n c i a l Reasons

Fi n a n c i a l reasons f o r dropping out are c i t e d almost

as often as academic reasons by young f u l l - t i m e students.

38

There i s some evidence to suggest that perceived f i n a n c i a l

d i f f i c u l t y i s more important i n influencing a decision to

drop-out than whether r e a l f i n a n c i a l d i f f i c u l t y does e x i s t

(Tinto, 1975; Pantages and Creedon, 1978). Woodley and Par­

l e t t (1983) noted lack of f i n a n c i a l support as a reason

given by drop-outs from distance education courses, but the

frequency of such reports was not given. Rekkedal (1981)

l i s t e d "economic reasons" as one of the most frequently

c i t e d reasons f o r discontinuation of correspondence studies

at NKT-skolen i n Norway. Bean and Metzner (1985) noted that

older part-time students reported f i n a n c i a l concerns as

often as t h e i r younger f u l l - t i m e counterparts i n g i v i n g rea­

sons f o r withdrawal from college.

Motivational Reasons

Pantages and Creedon (1978) categorized a v a r i e t y of

student-provided reasons f o r drop-out under 'motivational

f a c t o r s ' . These included uncertainty about goals, lack of

i n t e r e s t i n studies, and i n a b i l i t y or unwillingness to

study. Bean and Metzner (1985) reported that older part-

time students often studied f o r pragmatic career-related

reasons, and speculated that f o r these students, perceived

usefulness of studies was an important factor i n per­

sistence. Reasons given f o r drop-out by adult distance edu­

cation students reported by Rekkedal (1981) and Woodley and

P a r l e t t (1983) support t h i s speculation. They c i t e d student

reasons such as career goal changes, goal achievement

39

through d i f f e r e n t means, and studies not suited to goal.

In a study of students at the FernUniversitat, Bar-

t e l s (1982) reported that students c i t e d one of the most

important factors i n persistence as having the a b i l i t y to

choose a major subject according to i n t e r e s t . Bean and

Metzner (1985) c l a s s i f i e d i n t e r e s t or lack of i t under the

broad general heading of " s a t i s f a c t i o n " . They defined t h i s

category of reasons as the extent to which students enjoyed

the r o l e of student, and t h e i r l e v e l of i n t e r e s t or boredom.

They reported that r o l e s a t i s f a c t i o n and i n t e r e s t were prob­

ably more important factors i n persistence f o r older part-

time students than younger f u l l - t i m e students. They noted

that i f s a t i s f a c t i o n l e v e l was high, the competing demands

for the older students' time might not have had such a nega­

t i v e e f f e c t on persistence.

Change i n Circumstances

This t o p i c has already been covered under "External

Environmental Factors Related to A t t r i t i o n " , but deserves

some mention here as one of the most consistently c i t e d rea­

sons given f o r withdrawal by adult part-time students (Bean

and Metzner, 1985). Adult students balance t h e i r studies

with many other commitments, and a change i n circumstances

such as family i l l n e s s or death, change i n employment condi­

t i o n s , household move, or change i n marital status can

r e s u l t i n withdrawal given c e r t a i n other conditions. In

40

s t u d i e s o f drop-out from d i s t a n c e e d u c a t i o n courses, change

i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s i s u s u a l l y the reason c i t e d most o f t e n by

a d u l t s t u d e n t s (Kennedy and Powell, 1976; B a r t e l s , 1982;

P y t h i a n and Clements, 1982; Rekkedal, 1981; van Wijk, 1983;

Woodley and P a r l e t t , 1983).

T h e o r e t i c a l Models of A t t r i t i o n

By f a r the l a r g e s t p o r t i o n o f drop-out r e s e a r c h con­

s i s t s s o l e l y o f d e s c r i p t i o n s o f c a u s a l f a c t o r s a t t a i n e d

through e m p i r i c a l r e s e a r c h . However, t h e r e i s now g e n e r a l

agreement t h a t what i s needed are c o n c e p t u a l models of

a t t r i t i o n which r e c o g n i z e t h e complex i n t e r p l a y o f v a r i a b l e s

which i n t e r a c t over a p e r i o d o f time t o produce drop-out.

These models l e n d themselves t o m u l t i v a r i a t e and l o n g i t u d i ­

n a l p a t h a n a l y s e s which are r e q u i r e d i n o r d e r t o i s o l a t e and

measure the r e l a t i v e importance o f v a r i o u s f a c t o r s d u r i n g

the drop-out p r o c e s s . A few c o n c e p t u a l models have been

i n t r o d u c e d i n t h e a t t r i t i o n l i t e r a t u r e . Some o f t h e s e are

narrow, t a k i n g o n l y one o r a few f a c t o r s i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n .

Others a r e much wider, encompassing the i n t e r a c t i o n of s t u ­

dent, i n s t i t u t i o n a l and environmental f a c t o r s . The l a t t e r

t e n d t o be more u s e f u l f o r r e s e a r c h purposes and f o r p l a n ­

n i n g r e t e n t i o n s t r a t e g i e s .

Spady (1971) i s u s u a l l y c r e d i t e d w i t h i n t r o d u c i n g

t h e f i r s t model o f a t t r i t i o n . He used Durkheim's t h e o r y of

s u i c i d e as an analogy f o r drop-out. H i s model d e s c r i b e d the

41

a s s i m i l a t i o n process of a student into an educational i n s t i ­

t u t i o n , taking into account student c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and the

i n s t i t u t i o n ' s s o c i a l and academic demands. Spady's theory

was that i f the student could meet the demands of the i n s t i ­

t u t i o n and f e l t rewarded i n the process, i t was l i k e l y that

successful a s s i m i l a t i o n and persistence would be the r e s u l t .

Tinto (1975) developed a theory s i m i l a r to Spady's

but went beyond desc r i p t i o n of the process to b u i l d a

p r e d i c t i v e model. Tinto viewed the educational i n s t i t u t i o n

as a s o c i a l system into which the p e r s i s t i n g student became

integrated over time. He described the integration process

as a s e r i e s of interactions between the person and the

s o c i a l and academic systems of the i n s t i t u t i o n . The person

entered with c e r t a i n completion goals and i n s t i t u t i o n a l com­

mitments which, over time, were modified by the q u a l i t y and

frequency of s o c i a l and academic in t e r a c t i o n s . Depending

upon whether the students' goals and commitments were

strengthened or weakened by t h i s process, they would drop

out or p e r s i s t .

A number of studies have tested the Spady and Tinto

models. The best known of these are the v a l i d a t i o n studies

of Pascarella and Terenzini. They have found support for

the Tinto theory i n a v a r i e t y of ways. In a study of fresh­

man year students at one college, they were able to show, to

some degree, that student c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and academic

experiences interacted to produce persistence or drop-out

42

decisions (Terenzini and Pascarella, 1978; Pascarella and

Terenzini, 1979a). In another study, they were able to i s o ­

l a t e student-faculty contact as a v a r i a b l e and showed how

t h i s contributed to both s o c i a l and academic integration of

the student according to the Tinto model (Pascarella and

Terenzini, 1979b). Another of t h e i r studies looked at the

construct v a l i d i t y of Tinto's conceptual framework (Teren­

z i n i and Pascarella, 1980) and found support for i t .

Although they f e l t that Tinto overstated the importance of

student c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , they found that the model 1s two

major constructs, s o c i a l and academic integration, were s i g ­

n i f i c a n t i n d i s t i n g u i s h i n g between p e r s i s t e r s and voluntary

leavers. Pascarella and Terenzini (1980) also found support

for the p r e d i c t i v e v a l i d i t y of s o c i a l and academic integra­

t i o n f o r a t t r i t i o n and completion by developing and t e s t i n g

a multidimensional measurement instrument to assess the

major dimensions of the Tinto model. They concluded that

the model was useful f o r t h e o r e t i c a l and research purposes,

as well as f o r p r a c t i c a l purposes of planning retention

s t r a t e g i e s .

Adult part-time students do not f i t the Tinto model

because they have much les s i n t e r a c t i o n with f a c u l t y and

fellow students than younger part-time students who spend

much more time on campus. Hence, s o c i a l integration as

defined by Tinto does not contribute i n the same way to

t h e i r goals and i n s t i t u t i o n a l commitment. The s i g n i f i c a n t

43

others i n adult students 1 l i v e s are usually the same ones

they had before commencing t h e i r studies — family, friends,

employer and co-workers. This i s p a r t i c u l a r l y applicable to

distance education students who study i n t h e i r own homes and

have even l e s s contact with f a c u l t y and other students than

do campus-based part-time learners. Bean and Metzner (1985)

developed a conceptual model of the a t t r i t i o n process f o r

adult part-time students. They proposed that withdrawal

decisions were based on four sets of va r i a b l e s : 1) back­

ground and defining variables of the student such as age,

enrolment status, and gender; 2) academic va r i a b l e s such as

study habits and course a v a i l a b i l i t y ; 3) environmental

va r i a b l e s such as finances, hours of employment, outside

encouragement, and family r e s p o n s i b i l i t y ; 4) psychological

outcomes such as perceived u t i l i t y (of studies), s a t i s f a c ­

t i o n , goal commitment and stress. These sets of variables

can contribute d i r e c t l y , i n d i r e c t l y or can i n t e r a c t to con­

t r i b u t e to the drop-out decision.

Bean and Metzner (1985) proposed that there were

"compensatory i n t e r a c t i o n e f f e c t s " (p. 49) i n the model as

follows.

When academic and environmental variables are both... favorable to persistence, students should remain i n school, and when both are poor, students should leave school. When academic variables are good, but environmental variables are poor, students should leave school, and the p o s i t i v e e f f e c t s of the academic variables on retention w i l l not be seen.

44

When environmental support i s good and academic support i s poor, students would be expected to remain enrolled — the environmental support compensates fo r low scores on the academic va r i a b l e s . (pp. 491-2)

Bean and Metzner described a s i m i l a r r e l a t i o n s h i p among

academic outcomes, marks and psychological outcomes. They

suggested that the older student might p e r s i s t despite low

marks i f the psychological outcomes were p o s i t i v e (for exam­

ple, seeing the usefulness of t h e i r studies). The compensa­

tory e f f e c t s between variables i n the Bean and Metzner model

are s i m i l a r to those between s o c i a l and academic integration

i d e n t i f i e d by Tinto (1975) i n h i s model of a t t r i t i o n . What

i s very c l e a r i s that the r e l a t i v e importance of variables

i n an i n t e r a c t i o n a l model of a t t r i t i o n i s e n t i r e l y dependent

on the p a r t i c u l a r student population and what they perceive

and experience as being important to t h e i r persistence. For

example, using the Bean and Metzner model, i f adult distance

learners see t h e i r studies as being useful, have family sup­

port and academic c a p a b i l i t y , they w i l l probably p e r s i s t

despite i s o l a t i o n from the i n s t i t u t i o n . On the other hand,

they probably w i l l not p e r s i s t i f , i n addition to being i s o ­

lated, any of the f i r s t three conditions i s not met. Hence,

the Bean and Metzner model may prove to be a useful s t a r t i n g

point i n developing a model of a t t r i t i o n and retention s t r a ­

tegies f o r adult distance learners. What i s needed i s more

information about what these p a r t i c u l a r students see as con­

t r i b u t i n g to t h e i r persistence or withdrawal.

45

Other models o f a t t r i t i o n d e s c r i b e d by Lenning e t

a l . (1980) are d i s c u s s e d b r i e f l y here. These a r e not w i d e l y

r e c o g n i z e d i n the l i t e r a t u r e and appear not t o have been

t e s t e d t o t h e e x t e n t o f the Spady and T i n t o models.

In 1973, F l a n n e r y d e s c r i b e d a t h e o r y of a t t r i t i o n

which c o n s i d e r e d student e x p e c t a t i o n s and attainment. In

t h i s model, students were seen t o e n t e r post-secondary study

w i t h c e r t a i n e x p e c t a t i o n s and, depending upon m i t i g a t i n g

c i r c u m s t a n c e s from t h r e e sources — the student, s o c i e t y and

t h e i n s t i t u t i o n — t h e i r e x p e c t a t i o n s might o r might not be

met. I f t h e i r e x p e c t a t i o n s were met, p e r s i s t e n c e was

l i k e l y . A l f r e d (1974) a p p l i e d symbolic i n t e r a c t i o n t h e o r y

t o a t t r i t i o n i n d e v e l o p i n g a complex model i n which he i d e n ­

t i f i e d 52 primary f a c t o r s i n v o l v e d i n withdrawal d e c i s i o n s .

As w e l l as d e s c r i b i n g models o f a t t r i t i o n , Lenning

e t a l . (1980) suggested two o t h e r w e l l v a l i d a t e d p s y c h o l o g i ­

c a l t h e o r i e s o f behaviour which might be a p p l i e d t o a t t r i ­

t i o n . They proposed t h a t H o l l a n d ' s (1966,1973) t h e o r y o f

v o c a t i o n a l c h o i c e , which d e s c r i b e d s i x b a s i c p e r s o n a l i t y and

environmental types and h i s measurement instrument, c o u l d be

used t o t e s t a p e r s o n / i n s t i t u t i o n a l f i t t h e o r y o f p e r ­

s i s t e n c e . F i n a l l y , Lenning e t a l . d i s c u s s e d the a p p l i c a b i l ­

i t y o f F e s t i n g e r ' s (1962) t h e o r y o f c o g n i t i v e dissonance t o

a person-environment model o f a t t r i t i o n . T h i s t h e o r y d e a l t

w i t h the i n d i v i d u a l ' s p e r c e p t i o n s and knowledge o f s e l f , the

s o c i a l environment and h i s o r her e x p e r i e n c e s . I f t h e r e was

46

a perceived dissonance among the elements, the i n d i v i d u a l

would seek to lessen i t . In applying the theory to a t t r i ­

t i o n , Lenning et a l . suggested that students experiencing

dissonance between t h e i r perceived needs and the

i n s t i t u t i o n ' s a b i l i t y to meet them would be l i k e l y to remedy

the s i t u a t i o n by dropping out. Each s i t u a t i o n would d i f f e r

depending upon the nature of the i n d i v i d u a l and the i n s t i t u ­

t i o n .

There have been some attempts by researchers to

develop a theory of a t t r i t i o n and a retention strategy based

on an i s o l a t e d v a r i a b l e . Two such models which apply

s p e c i f i c a l l y to distance education are reported here.

Thompson (1984) proposed an a t t r i t i o n theory of cognitive

s t y l e / i n s t i t u t i o n a l f i t . S p e c i f i c a l l y , he suggested that

field-dependent learners, because of t h e i r greater need f o r

structure and support, were not well suited to the indepen­

dent study required of distance learners. Thompson recom­

mended that field-dependent distance learners might benefit

from increased opportunity f o r contact with academic s t a f f

and other students. Field-independent learners, because of

t h e i r tendency to be more autonomous, should be i d e a l l y

s uited to distance education. Thompson concluded that

drop-out should be investigated using models which r e f l e c t e d

"aptitude-treatment in t e r a c t i o n s " proposed by Cronbach and

Snow (Thompson, 1984, p. 291).

47

D i S i l v e s t r o and Markowitz (1982) used the expectancy

theory of motivation to propose the use of behavioral con­

t r a c t s to improve completion rates i n correspondence study.

Their idea was that, i f the goal and path to the goal were

c l e a r to the student, then successful completion would be

the l i k e l y outcome. They concluded from the t e s t study of

t h e i r theory that the contract students were much more

l i k e l y to have a prompt s t a r t but were no more l i k e l y to

complete than t h e i r counterparts with no contracts. This

r e s u l t speaks to the inadequacy of s i n g l e - f a c t o r theories

and strategies i n dealing with a complex issue such as

a t t r i t i o n .

Retention Strategies

A number of research studies and reviews of the

l i t e r a t u r e have proposed retention strategies. The follow­

ing i s a summary of these based on authors reviewed f o r t h i s

chapter.

Recruitment/Information

Recruitment programs should provide accurate i n f o r ­

mation about courses, programs and i n s t i t u t i o n s to help

prospective students to make sound decisions and choices.

Zahn (c i t e d by Rekkedal, 1981) pointed out the dangers i n

over advertising or advertising i n a misleading way,

" a t t r a c t i n g thereby students who are unable to p r o f i t from

48

the i n s t r u c t i o n or students who are seeking knowledge the

course i s not intended to provide", (p. 16).

Admissions P o l i c i e s

Although some researchers have recommended r a i s i n g

admissions standards as a method of lowering a t t r i t i o n , most

authors agreed that t h i s was not an acceptable s o l u t i o n .

Rekkedal (1981) pointed out quite accurately that, i n the

long run, t h i s only lessens a c c e s s i b i l i t y and widens the

e x i s t i n g educational gaps within society.

Orientation Programs

More comprehensive, thorough o r i e n t a t i o n programs

have been recommended f a i r l y c onsistently i n the l i t e r a t u r e

(Pantages and Creedon, 1978; Lenning et a l . , 1980). The

stated purpose of these i s to help integrate students into

the i n s t i t u t i o n a l environment.

Assessment and Counselling

Recommendations fo r assessment and counselling ser­

v i c e s include pre-enrolment counselling and academic advis­

ing, i d e n t i f y i n g 'high r i s k ' students, career counselling,

study s k i l l s assistance, remediation services, and e x i t

interviews. (Rounds, 1984; Pantages and Creedon, 1978; Len­

ning et a l . , 1980; Woodley and P a r l e t t , 1983).

49

Student/Faculty Interactions

Better t r a i n i n g programs f o r fa c u l t y and tutors

which incorporate counselling s k i l l s were suggested by a

number of authors (Rounds, 1984; Rekkedal, 1981; Sweet,

1982). Another frequently made recommendation was to

increase the opportunity f o r faculty/student i n t e r a c t i o n

outside of the classroom (Lenning et a l . , 1980).

Summary: Retention Strategies

The most frequently made suggestions with regard to

retention have to do with support services. Unfortunately,

very l i t t l e i n the way of evaluative research i s av a i l a b l e

to a t t e s t to the effectiveness of these programs i n lowering

a t t r i t i o n . What may be concluded i s that d i f f e r e n t models

of a t t r i t i o n are required f o r d i f f e r e n t types of student

bodies and i n s t i t u t i o n s , and, hence, no one set of retention

s t r a t e g i e s w i l l f i t a l l s i t u a t i o n s .

Research Method

The research method used for t h i s study was chosen

because i t i s a technique designed to i l l i c i t peoples'

experiences which s i g n i f i c a n t l y contribute to a s p e c i f i e d

outcome. The C r i t i c a l Incident Technique (Flanagan, 1954)

was o r i g i n a l l y developed to i d e n t i f y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of

p i l o t performance through d i r e c t observation of behaviour.

During the 1950's, i t was employed f o r a number of personnel

50

studies to do with performance evaluation, but was not used

frequently f o r a number of years a f t e r that era. Recently,

i t s effectiveness as a research method i n counselling has

been discovered, and a number of studies have employed i t

(Woolsey, 1986).

As a q u a l i t a t i v e method of inquiry, the c r i t i c a l

incident technique values the i n d i v i d u a l ' s d e s c r i p t i o n of

h i s or her subjective r e a l i t y . This does not render the

data any l e s s r e l i a b l e or v a l i d than that c o l l e c t e d through

quantitative methods. Andersson and Nilsson (1964), i n an

extensive review, concluded that the c r i t i c a l incident tech­

nique was both r e l i a b l e and v a l i d as a method of c o l l e c t i n g

information. They stated: "The material c o l l e c t e d seems to

represent very well the behaviour units that the method may

be expected to provide." (p. 402).

The strong c r i t i c i s m s of a t t r i t i o n research are that

i t i s lacking i n t h e o r e t i c a l conceptual models and that i t

i s l a r g e l y d e s c r i p t i v e or c o r r e l a t i o n a l with the emphasis on

i d e n t i f y i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s between student and i n s t i t u t i o n a l

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and drop-out (Tinto, 1975; Lenning et a l . ,

1980; Bean and Metzner, 1985). At the same time, a number

of researchers (Terenzini and Pascarella, 1980; Rounds,

1984; Bartels, 198_; Kennedy and Powell, 1976) have stated

the greater importance of student experiences i n r e l a t i o n to

t h e i r background c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , and the need to explore

these experiences further i n defining s i g n i f i c a n t factors i n

51

developing models of a t t r i t i o n f o r distance education.

Woolsey (1986) discussed the usefulness of the c r i t ­

i c a l incident technique to foundational and exploratory

work, noting that " C r i t i c a l incident studies are p a r t i c u ­

l a r l y useful because they generate both exploratory informa­

t i o n and theory or model b u i l d i n g . " (p. 252). By using an

exploratory technique which f a c i l i t a t e s gathering d i r e c t

observations from students, the incidents which are c r i t i c a l

to persistence of a p a r t i c u l a r student population can be

i d e n t i f i e d . The factors which emerge can then be used to

develop a model of a t t r i t i o n and retention strategies f o r

that population which can be tested and evaluated.

52

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Subject Selection

Forty students enrolled i n t h e i r f i r s t course at

Athabasca Uni v e r s i t y were chosen at random from eight

courses, ( f i v e students from each course). The eight

courses were selected from both l i b e r a l and applied studies

a f t e r discussions with academic s t a f f at the i n s t i t u t i o n .

The courses selected provide a good representation from a

v a r i e t y of d i s c i p l i n e s , and included both three-credit (half

year) and s i x - c r e d i t ( f u l l year) courses. I t would have

been desirable to include more senior l e v e l courses but stu­

dent numbers were not large enough i n a given month to draw

a sample (Athabasca University has continuous enrolment.

Students with the same s t a r t date were chosen from each

course). The courses chosen were as follows:

French 103: Ensemble: French for Beginners (6 credits) English 210: L i t e r a r y Forms and Techniques (6 credits) Psychology 206: Introductory Psychology (6 credits) Geology 231: Understanding the Earth (3 credits) Computing Science 203: Introductory BASIC Programming (3 credits) Communications 229: Introductory Interpersonal Communica­tio n s (3 credits) Accounting 253: Introductory F i n a n c i a l Accounting (3 credits) Legal Relations 369: Commercial Law (3 credits)

53

Computer printouts of the student I.D. numbers for

a l l students with the same s t a r t date i n four of these

courses were pul l e d from the student record system, and then

f i v e I.D. numbers were drawn at random from a l l of the I.D.

numbers i n each course. This process was c a r r i e d out soon

a f t e r the chosen s t a r t date without regard f o r the students'

progress i n the course, t h e i r demographics, or any other

fa c t o r s . Approximately a month l a t e r , the same process was

followed f o r the remaining four courses. The time lapse

between the selections was planned i n order to f a c i l i t a t e

staggering the interviews over a two month period. Only one

student of the 40 subsequently declined to be interviewed.

The o r i g i n a l process, using the remaining I.D. numbers f o r

that course was employed to s e l e c t an alternate.

Description of Subj ects

Following the interviews, the demographics of the 40

students were obtained from the student record system.

Although the students had been chosen through simple random

se l e c t i o n , and the sample was r e l a t i v e l y small, t h e i r demo­

graphics matched those of the t o t a l student population of

the Uni v e r s i t y i n a number of important ways (Table I ) .

Sixty per cent (24) of the sample were female, and the aver­

age age of the students at the time of the interviews was

33.5 years. They came from a v a r i e t y of educational back­

grounds. Six had at l e a s t one u n i v e r s i t y degree; ten had

taken some u n i v e r s i t y courses; seven had secondary school

54

diplomas; and f i v e had completed some secondary school.

Five students d i d not report t h e i r educational background.

The students were also from a v a r i e t y of geographic l o c a ­

t i o n s , mostly i n Alberta and B r i t i s h Columbia, more from

urban settings than r u r a l . Their motivations f o r studying

with AU varie d from s p e c i f i c career reasons to gaining a

p a r t i c u l a r knowledge or s k i l l , earning a degree, or general

i n t e r e s t .

F i f t e e n of the 40 students successfully completed

t h e i r courses. This constitutes a completion rate of 37.5%

i f those who formally withdrew within 3 0 days are included

i n the c a l c u l a t i o n , and a completion rate of 43% i f they are

not included. Of the 25 students who d i d not complete t h e i r

courses, only 5 chose to withdraw formally within the f i r s t

30 days. The remainder were "withdrawn without c r e d i t " by

the u n i v e r s i t y when t h e i r contract time expired. Table 1

shows how these s t a t i s t i c s compare to the t o t a l student

population at Athabasca University.

TABLE I

Comparison o f C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f Sample Subj e c t s w i t h those of T o t a l Student P o p u l a t i o n

C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s % o f Sample % of (1984-85) P o p u l a t i o n

(1984-85**)

Geographic l o c a t i o n : urban 63 63 r u r a l 37 37 A l b e r t a 70 75 B.C. 18 12 o t h e r p r o v i n c e s and t e r r i t o r i e s 12 13

Sex: male 40 39 female 60 61

E d u c a t i o n Background: some h i g h s c h o o l 12.5 10 h i g h s c h o o l graduate 17.5 2 0 some u n i v e r s i t y 27.5 25 u n i v e r s i t y degree 15 14 c o l l e g e / n u r s i n g diploma 10 10 v o c a t i o n a l / t e c h n i c a l

s c h o o l 5 10 ot h e r 12.5 11

Age: l e s s than 25 10 24 25-34 55 44 35-44 20 24 45-54 5 6 g r e a t e r than 55 7.5 2 not known 2.5

P e r s i s t e n c e i n Course: Completer (1) 43* 44** Withdrawn - no c r e d i t (2) 57* 56**

(1) I n c l u d e s f a i l u r e s as w e l l as s u c c e s s f u l completions.

(2) E i t h e r d i d not s t a r t working on the course o r stopped working b e f o r e completion but d i d not f o r m a l l y withdraw.

* These f i g u r e s a re based on c a l c u l a t i o n s which do not i n c l u d e the f i v e s t u d e n t s who chose t o withdraw f o r m a l l y w i t h i n 30 days. T h i s i s the way i n which completion r a t e s a re now c a l c u l a t e d a t AU.

** Completion r a t e s a re f o r 1983-84, the l a t e s t date f o r which t h e r e are p o p u l a t i o n d a t a .

56

I n i t i a l Contact Process

Letters of i n i t i a l contact (see Appendix I) were

mailed to the subjects, and follow up telephone c a l l s were

made to personally request p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n the study,

answer questions, and set interview times. Subjects were

informed during the i n i t i a l telephone c a l l that the i n t e r ­

views would take approximately 30 minutes, would be con­

ducted by telephone, and that they would be audiotaped. At

the same time, rule s of c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y , and the non­

p r e j u d i c i a l nature of p a r t i c i p a t i o n or non-participation was

stressed. I f the subject agreed to be interviewed, (only

one d i d not and was replaced with another student chosen at

random from the same course), an appointment f o r the i n t e r ­

view was set, and a consent form (see Appendix II) was

mailed. The consent form once again stressed that the

interview was s t r i c t l y c o n f i d e n t i a l , and had no bearing on

course r e s u l t s .

The Interview

The C r i t i c a l Incident Technique was selected as the

best interview method fo r s o l i c i t i n g concrete incidents i n

which something hindered or f a c i l i t a t e d the students' per­

sistence i n t h e i r courses. Students were interviewed 8 to

10 weeks a f t e r t h e i r o f f i c i a l s t a r t dates. This was some­

what e a r l i e r than o r i g i n a l l y proposed for the study, and was

on the advice of academics and tutors at Athabasca Univer-

57

s i t y . The idea was to ensure that students had s u f f i c i e n t

time to have some experience with t h e i r courses, but not so

much time that they had already 'mentally', i f not formally,

dropped out. Care was taken i n t h i s regard to meet the c r i ­

t e r i a of " q u a l i f i e d observer" which Flanagan, (1954, p.

334-35), points out i s very important i n obtaining accurate

data using the C r i t i c a l Incident interview. At the begin­

ning of each interview, a second check was made on the com­

petence of the student to evaluate t h e i r experience by ask­

ing them to rate t h e i r progress i n the course against the

suggested schedule provided with the course materials. In

a l l cases, students were able to do t h i s , as evidenced by

such comments as: " d r a s t i c a l l y behind", "on schedule and

working hard", "behind by about two assignments", "a l i t t l e

b i t ahead", "have made several attempts to s t a r t but am get­

t i n g nowhere", and "behind schedule and have not touched the

course f o r a week".

The telephone was chosen as the medium of communica­

t i o n f o r the interview because Athabasca students l i v e i n

a l l parts of Canada, and the telephone i s the usual mode of

communication between them and the i n s t i t u t i o n . Using the

telephone also precluded having to choose students who were

geographically close to the researcher.

The interviews were a l l conducted by the author, and

were c a r r i e d out i n a pre-determined format. The interview

began with an introduction to the interviewer, a review of

5 8

the purpose of the study, and assurances about the confiden­

t i a l i t y of any information c o l l e c t e d or accessed as a r e s u l t

of the study. The standard preamble follows:

This i s Jane Brindley from Student Ser­vice s at Athabasca University. We arranged t h i s time f o r an interview. Is t h i s s t i l l a l r i g h t with you? Just i n case you have forgotten, I am t r y i n g to f i n d out more about what helps and hinders a student i n completing a d i s ­tance education course. I hope that t h i s information w i l l a s s i s t i n planning and developing better support services. You were chosen to be interviewed because t h i s i s your f i r s t course with Athabasca, and i t i s now weeks since your s t a r t date. No consideration has been given to your progress i n the course. Your responses to my questions w i l l be very h e l p f u l no matter where you are with the course r i g h t now — even i f you have not started working on i t . A l l informa­t i o n which you provide w i l l be kept anonymously. Your responses w i l l be com­p i l e d with those of other students being interviewed, and the information w i l l be analyzed as a whole. No references w i l l be made to your name or that of any other student. Do you have any questions or comments before we begin?

Once the student was ready, the interview was under­

taken i n the predetermined format, using f a i r l y structured,

but open ended questions as follows:

From t a l k i n g to other students, I f i n d everyone has c e r t a i n s a t i s f a c t i o n s and d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n s i n taking a distance education course. I would l i k e to hear about your personal experience. In par­t i c u l a r , I am interested i n f i n d i n g out what has helped you to or kept you back from working on your Athabasca course. I would l i k e you to t r y to remember s p e c i f i c times when something happened which perhaps made a difference — a

59

thought, a f e e l i n g , an action, an obser­vation, whatever — which helped you or blocked you from s t a r t i n g or staying with your course. Think about whether these incidents helped you or hindered you so much that i t changed your behaviour or thinking. As you think of these times, perhaps you could j o t down a key word fo r each one. When you are ready, we w i l l s t a r t with the most recent one Okay, now before we s t a r t , please t e l l me i n your own words what you think I have asked you to do so that we can be sure that we understand each other Now, l e t ' s s t a r t with the most recent thing that you can remember. Don't worry about how you answer or whether you think you are repeating yourself. Anything w i l l be h e l p f u l . I ' l l s t a r t by asking you some questions: Did t h i s incident change your behaviour or thinking about the course?.... Describe what happened?.... What lead up to t h i s ? . . . . When did i t happen?.... Why was t h i s such a help (or setback)?....

As the subject f i n i s h e d describing each incident,

the interviewer used paraphrasing to ensure accuracy, and to

e l i c i t any other d e t a i l s . The interview continued u n t i l no

further incidents were forthcoming.

Recording and Sorting of Data

A l l of the interviews were audiotaped. As well,

each of the incidents was recorded i n writing by the i n t e r ­

viewer while the interview proceeded. Each was then checked

with the tapes f o r accuracy and completeness. Each of the

incidents was then separately transcribed onto a coloured

index card with the I.D. number of the student who had

reported i t . Two colours were used, one for f a c i l i t a t i n g

incidents, and one for hindering. The incident cards were

60

then sorted many times by the interviewer into groups with

common meaning u n t i l they consistently formed basic

categories. Following the interviewer's i n i t i a l formation

of categories, the cards were coded, mixed together, and

then sorted by two independent raters to check the r e l i a b i l ­

i t y of the categories.

61

CHAPTER IV

RESULTS

The 40 students i n the study reported a t o t a l of 2 65

incidents, 113 f a c i l i t a t i n g and 152 hindering incidents.

The average number of incidents reported per student was

6.6. One student reported that nothing had hindered h i s

progress while two students could i d e n t i f y no f a c i l i t a t i n g

incidents. The fewest incidents that any one student

reported was 2, while the most was 12. The most common

number of incidents reported was 6.

Of the 40 students, 15 (37.5%) completed t h e i r

courses, and 25 (62.5%) did not. The 15 completers reported

108 (40.75%) of the t o t a l 265 incidents, 50 (46%) f a c i l i t a t ­

ing and 58 (54%) hindering. The non-completers reported 157

(59.2%) of the t o t a l 265 incidents, 63 (40%) f a c i l i t a t i n g

and 94 (60%) hindering. Although the t o t a l number of

incidents reported by each of the two groups, (completers

and non-completers) was consistent with t h e i r s i z e ( i e . com­

pl e t e r s made up 37.5% of the group and reported 40.75% of

the i n c i d e n t s . ) , there were noticeable differences within

p a r t i c u l a r categories of incidents. (see section on com­

parison of completers and non-completers, and Tables III and

IV.)

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Description of Basic Categories

The 265 incidents were sorted into groups of common

meaning u n t i l 13 basic categories emerged. The categories

are bipolar, having the po t e n t i a l to include both hindering

and f a c i l i t a t i n g incidents. Only one category, #9 - Marks

Received, had only f a c i l i t a t i n g incidents reported. With

the exception of #9, examples of f a c i l i t a t i n g (F) and

hindering (H) incidents are given for each category.

(1) Student Interaction with the I n s t i t u t i o n

This category excludes the student's i n s t r u c ­

t i o n a l contact ( i e : with the tutor) but includes a l l

other contact by telephone, mail/print, or in-person.

F. When she received mail from AU, she f e l t cared about, "not j u s t a cog i n a wheel". I t inspired her to work.

F. Athabasca University Magazine gave him a boost; he suddenly did not f e e l so i s o l a t e d .

H. She requested the course i n December, and did not receive i t u n t i l February. Her motivation was l e s s .

H. When she enrolled, she had heard that there would be workshops, but no one contacted her to t e l l her where or when. She thought that t h i s was poor organization.

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(2) Personalized Instr u c t i o n a l Support

Personalized i n s t r u c t i o n a l support i s given i n

addition to the learning package and i s usually pro­

vided by the tutor and/or course coordinator by t e l e ­

phone. I t includes i n s t r u c t i o n on course content

including feedback on assignments, guidance i n approach

to learning, and encouragement.

F. She talked to her tutor who was very supportive. He referred to her extensive business experience as evidence of her c a p a b i l i t y .

H. When she c a l l e d her tutor f o r the f i r s t time, he did not seem recep­t i v e or enthusiastic. She thought, "I'm on my own".

H. He discovered that i t was d i f f i c u l t to get i n touch with the tutor. The telephone was always busy.

(3) Discovery about the Course/Support Materials/Approach

This category includes incidents where students

discovered something about the course, t h e i r approach

to i t , or support materials which made a difference to

them.

F. She discovered that the workbooks were very h e l p f u l i n giving sug­gested approach.

F. He discovered he could get supple­mentary materials (tapes) from the l i b r a r y . He f e l t encouraged and

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began to work more quickly.

H. When he saw the topics f o r the research paper, he f e l t he could not do i t because of h i s own lack of background and resources i n the community.

H. She discovered she would need a tape recorder and she d i d not have one.

(4) Pre-Course Preparation/Prior Expectations

The incidents i n t h i s category e i t h e r happened

before the student started the course or are r e l a t e d to

expectations held before the course began.

F. She saw a counsellor before she started her f i r s t course. He helped her to focus her goals i n studying and gave her encouragement which made her f e e l anxious to s t a r t .

F. She attended a study s k i l l s workshop before she started her course. I t made her aware of many p i t f a l l s and helped her to prepare.

H. When she f i r s t opened the package, she f e l t b a f f l e d and overwhelmed by the amount. She r e a l i z e d i t was serious. I t had been so easy to r e g i s t e r — " l i k e ordering some­thing from Sears".

H. Even before she received her course package, she had doubts about her c a p a b i l i t y . She thought the course would be d i f f i c u l t and she knew she was weak i n Math.

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(5) Received Encouragement/Support from Source Outside of

the Uni v e r s i t y

Encouragement, support, and i n s t r u c t i o n were

given by family, friends, and colleagues outside of the

University.

F. Her husband helped her by asking s p e c i f i c content questions. Teach­ing him helped her to learn.

F. A colleague at work helped him with the programming exercise.

H. Her husband questioned the value of her being i n the course, e s p e c i a l l y i n the evening when "time was taken from him".

H. She f e l t discouraged when a f r i e n d who was also doing a home study course f i n i s h e d because they were going to work together.

(6) Deadlines and Schedules

This category includes incidents r e s u l t i n g from

deadlines and schedules imposed by students, t h e i r c i r ­

cumstances, or the i n s t i t u t i o n .

She ordered a l l three exams at once so that she would have very s t r i c t deadlines.

Just before the seminar, he spent l o t s of time on the course t r y i n g to prepare f o r i t .

She f e l t pressured by the time l i m i t (one month) for withdrawal.

66

She f e l t i t was not enough time to make a decision.

H. He was very busy at work and decided to set the course aside f o r a month. There were immediate deadlines at work but none i n h i s course.

(7) Personal Rea l i z a t i o n

These are incidents when students r e a l i z e d

something about themselves such as t h e i r a b i l i t y , t h e i r

progress i n the course, t h e i r approach to learning, and

feeli n g s about the course.

F. A f t e r she completed the f i r s t pro­gramming exercise, she had a f e e l ­ing of accomplishment. She f e l t smarter — l i k e she had an edge.

F. When he compared h i s work on the course to past experiences where he had been successful, he f e l t a l i t ­t l e ashamed and decided that he could do i t .

H. She f e l t she had neglected the course f o r too long and that there was no hope.

H. The novelty wore o f f a f t e r s i x to eight weeks. His enthusiasm dropped and i t f e l t l i k e a pain to s i t down and work on the course.

(8) Thoughts about Longer Term Goals

These are incidents where students thought

about how the course related to t h e i r longer term

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goals, usually career and educational.

F. She f e l t an i n t e r n a l pressure. Time was passing and she d i d not yet have a degree. She wanted t h i s very badly.

F. When he thought about h i s long term career goal, he f e l t l i k e continu­ing.

H. He took some vocational t e s t i n g which showed that he might have chosen the wrong f i e l d . He f e l t very discouraged about h i s course.

H. He was taking the course as a f i r s t step toward a career change. When he found out how much education was required to reach h i s goal, he f e l t he could never do i t .

(9) Marks Received

These incidents are ones where the marks

received i n the course had a d i r e c t e f f e c t on the way

the student f e l t about doing the course. Although no

students i n t h i s group reported hindering incidents,

students i n circumstances other than t h i s study have

reported negative or hindering e f f e c t s from marks

received.

F. She received a very high mark on the f i r s t exam and f e l t a c e r t a i n amount of s a t i s f a c t i o n .

F. He got the r e s u l t s from half-way exams and knew he was on the r i g h t track. I t made a r e a l difference.

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(10) Change i n Time A v a i l a b l e / C i r c u m s t a n c e s

T h i s i s the l a r g e s t c a t e g o r y and i n c l u d e s a l l

those i n c i d e n t s where students r e p o r t t h a t something i n

t h e i r l i f e changed which made a d i f f e r e n c e t o the

amount o f time spent on t h e i r course. I t i n c l u d e s such

t h i n g s as i l l n e s s , v a c a t i o n , work changes, death o f a

r e l a t i v e , season changes, and move o f r e s i d e n c e .

F. A f t e r she f i n i s h e d work f o r the summer, she had more time, and has spent more time on her course.

F. She f i n i s h e d a l o t of exams and papers i n her campus co u r s e s . She f e l t r e l i e v e d and ready t o work on her AU course.

H. There was a death i n the f a m i l y . I t kept her away from her course f o r two weeks.

H. Things were not going w e l l a t work. She f e l t she had t o get away. She went t o Vancouver f o r two weeks and d i d not work on the course.

(11) Course Content

T h i s c a t e g o r y i n c l u d e s those i n c i d e n t s which

s t u d e n t s d i r e c t l y a t t r i b u t e d t o the s u b j e c t matter o f

th e c o u r s e as opposed t o the d e s i g n .

F. When he f i r s t opened t h e package, h i s i n i t i a l i m p r e s s i o n was t h a t the course would be q u i t e i n t e r e s t i n g . He s t a r t e d r e a d i n g the textbook r i g h t away.

69

F. Once she sat down and worked on the course, she found i t i n t e r e s t i n g and enjoyable.

H. She was reading a novel which she didn't l i k e . She f e l t d i s i n ­terested. I t was d i f f i c u l t to make her s e l f work — to delve deeply enough.

H. When she f i r s t looked at the course, she thought she "wasn't getting i t because i t seemed too simple".

(12) Course Design

This category has to do with the design of the

learning package: the inst r u c t i o n s given, support

materials, examinations, and general layout.

F. He l i k e d the course design. I t t o l d him what to look f o r and gave him a sense of being on the r i g h t track.

F. Having a student manual helped her. I t got her back on the track with a suggested schedule when she got behind.

H. Her f i r s t exam was d i s t r e s s i n g because the structure was d i f f e r e n t than what she had expected from doing previous quizzes.

H. The student manual referred to a d i f f e r e n t kind of computer than h i s . Figuring out the correspond­ing information for a home computer was discouraging and f r u s t r a t i n g .

70

(13) P r a c t i c a l Application of Learning

This category includes incidents where students

reported being able to r e l a t e the course to t h e i r

experience. I t f a c i l i t a t e d them i n t h e i r course i f

they saw t h i s as being h e l p f u l , and hindered them i f

they saw i t as being redundant.

F. When he started, he f e l t the course was enjoyable because he was fami­l i a r with the content and could see p r a c t i c a l applications.

F. She spoke to her brother about her course. He t o l d her he thought the content was very relevant to current p r a c t i s e .

H. When she f i r s t opened the package, she could see i t was redundant to past education and experience. She f e l t as though she did not want to bother getting started.

R e l i a b i l i t y of the Basic Categories

Two d i f f e r e n t raters, one male and one female, were

used to determine the r e l i a b i l i t y of the basic categories.

The male i s an administrator at Athabasca University, and i s

f a m i l i a r with distance education methods, and the terms used

for the categories. He has a doctoral degree i n Comparative

Education and i s 44 years of age. The female r a t e r i s

employed f u l l - t i m e i n an unrelated f i e l d , has some post-

secondary education, and i s 59 years of age. Both are

residents of Edmonton.

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A sample of 52 incidents, 4 from each category, were

selected f o r the raters to sort. They achieved r e l i a b i l i t y

scores of 94% ( f i r s t rater) and 92% (second r a t e r ) .

Incidents were miscategorized due, eithe r to lack of under­

standing of the category description, not reading the

incidents completely, or a difference of opinion. The

i n t e r r a t e r r e l i a b i l i t y of over 90% on both t r i a l s represents

strong r e l i a b i l i t y of the basic categories.

Basic Categories P a r t i c i p a t i o n Rate

The p a r t i c i p a t i o n rate indicates the strength of the

categories by showing the extent to which d i f f e r e n t p a r t i c i ­

pants i n the study reported the same kind of incidents as

hindering of f a c i l i t a t i n g t h e i r goals. Table II shows the

p a r t i c i p a t i o n rate by percentage of students reporting

incidents i n each category. As well, the actual number of

incidents which the percentages represent are shown.

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TABLE II

Basic Categories P a r t i c i p a t i o n Rate

CATEGORY %of Students # of Incidents Reporting In- F a c i l i - Hinder-cidents i n t a t i n g ing each category

1. Student Interaction with the I n s t i t u t e

2. Personalized Inst r u c t i o n a l Support

3. Discovery about the Course

4. Pre-Course Preparation/Prior Expectations

5. Encouragement/Support from Outside the University

6. Deadlines and Schedules

7. Personal R e a l i z a t i o n

8. Thoughts about Longer Term

Goals

9. Marks Received

10. Change i n Time Available

/Circumstances

11. Course Content

12. Course Design

13. P r a c t i c a l A pplication of Learning

20% 6 4

50% 15 12

43% 9 18

35% 5 13

43% 20 2

25% 10 3

63% 16 21

10% 2 3

20% 9 0

80% 4 52

23% 7 5

38% 5 15

20% 5 4

Comparison of Completers and Non-Completers

Table I I I shows a comparison of p a r t i c i p a t i o n rates

between completers and non-completers f o r each category.

For both groups, there i s at l e a s t one subject i n each

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category. There are noticeable differences between the

groups' p a r t i c i p a t i o n rates i n seven of the t h i r t e e n

categories. The p a r t i c i p a t i o n rates are p a r t l y a r e f l e c t i o n

of the r e l a t i v e importance attached to each category and for

these reasons, i t i s important to compare p e r s i s t e r s and

non-completers on t h i s dimension.

Table IV compares completers and non-completers on

another dimension. I t shows the r a t i o of f a c i l i t a t i n g to

hindering incidents i n each category f o r the two groups.

There are noticeable differences i n only four categories.

In general, i t can be said that the kind of incidents which

held the non-completer back, also hindered the completer.

Apparently, the completers responded d i f f e r e n t l y than the

non-completers to these incidents. Of p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t

i s Category 10 - Change i n Time Available or Circumstances.

Throughout distance education l i t e r a t u r e , t h i s i s c i t e d as

the most often provided reason f o r drop-out (Woodley and

P a r l e t t , 1983). This study shows that p e r s i s t e r s experience

j u s t as many instances of t h i s type of hindrance.

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TABLE I I I

Comparison o f P a r t i c i p a t i o n Rates i n C a t e g o r i e s Between Completers and Non-Completers

Category Completers (15=38%) Non-Completers (25=62%) % o f completers % o f non-completers

(out o f 15) (out o f 25) r e p o r t i n g i n c i d e n t s r e p o r t i n g i n c i d e n t s

*1. Student I n t e r a c t i o n w i t h the I n s t i t u t i o n 6% (1) 28% (7)

2. P e r s o n a l i z e d I n s t r u c t i o n a l Support 47% (7) 52% (13)

*3 . D i s c o v e r y about the Course 53% (8) 36% (9)

*4. Pre-Course P r e p a r a t i o n / P r i o r E x p e c t a t i o n s 27% (4) 40% (10)

*5. Encouragement/Support from O u t s i d e t h e U n i v e r s i t y 60% (9) 32% (8)

*6. D e a d l i n e s and Schedules 40% (6) 16% (4)

*7. P e r s o n a l R e a l i z a t i o n 53% (8) 68% (17)

8. Thoughts About Longer Term Goals 6% (1) 12% (3)

*9. Marks Re c e i v e d 33% (5) 12% (3)

10. Change i n Time A v a i l a b l e / Circumstances 87% (13) 76% (19)

11. Course Content 20% (3) 24% (6)

*12. Course Design 60% (9) 24% (6)

13 . P r a c t i c a l A p p l i c a t i o n o f L e a r n i n g 20% (3) 20% (5)

* C a t e g o r i e s where t h e r e are n o t i c e a b l e d i f f e r e n c e s between the two groups' p a r t i c i p a t i o n r a t e s .

75

TABLE IV

Comparison of Ratios Between F a c i l i t a t i n g and Hindering Incidents i n Categories f o r

Completers and Non-Completers

Category Number of Incidents Number of Incidents Reported by Reported by Completers Non-Completers

F a c i l i t a - Hindering F a c i l i t a - Hindering t i n g t i n g

1. Student Interaction with the I n s t i t u t i o n 0

2. Personalized Instruc­t i o n a l Support 5

*3. Discovery about the Course 7

*4. Pre-Course Preparation / P r i o r Expectations 2

5. Encouragement/Support from Outside the Univ e r s i t y 10

*6. Deadlines and Schedules 7

7. Personal R e a l i z a t i o n 6

8. Thoughts About Longer Term Goals 0

9. Marks Received 5

10. Change i n Time A v a i l ­able/Circumstances 2

11. Course Content 2

*12. Course Design 2

13. P r a c t i c a l Application of Learning 2

1

1

7

1

0

23

1

10

10

10

3

10

2

4

2

5

3

12

10

1

2

14

2

0

29

4

5

TOTALS 50 58 63 94

* Categories where there are noticeable differences between completers and non-completers with regard to the r a t i o between hindering and f a c i l i t a t i n g incidents.

76

CHAPTER V

DISCUSSION

Statement o f R e s u l t s

The f i n d i n g s o f the study address the t h r e e r e s e a r c h

q u e s t i o n s posed. 1) The students sampled were a b l e t o i d e n ­

t i f y s i g n i f i c a n t c o n c r e t e e x p e r i e n c e s which e i t h e r h i n d e r e d

o r f a c i l i t a t e d t h e i r p r o g r e s s i n d i s t a n c e e d u c a t i o n . 2)

S i m i l a r i t i e s and d i f f e r e n c e s were found between completers

and non-completers. 3) F a c t o r s i d e n t i f i e d by st u d e n t s i n

the study as b e i n g s i g n i f i c a n t i n t h e i r impact on p e r ­

s i s t e n c e o r withdrawal can c o n t r i b u t e t o the development of

a model o f a t t r i t i o n f o r d i s t a n c e e d u c a t i o n s t u d e n t s , t o

p l a n n i n g and e v a l u a t i n g r e t e n t i o n s t r a t e g i e s , and t o formu­

l a t i n g f u t u r e a t t r i t i o n r e s e a r c h .

That a l l s t u d e n t s i n t e r v i e w e d were a b l e t o i d e n t i f y

s i g n i f i c a n t e x p e r i e n c e s which a f f e c t e d t h e i r p e r s i s t e n c e can

p r o b a b l y be a t t r i b u t e d t o the nature o f the i n t e r v i e w which

took the emphasis completely away from the s t u d e n t s ' p r o ­

g r e s s i n t h e i r c o u r s e s , and p l a c e d i t on t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e s .

Rather than b e i n g asked t o r a t i o n a l i z e a chosen behaviour,

they were simply asked t o r e l a t e t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e s . In t h i s

way, t h e study was s u c c e s s f u l i n p r o d u c i n g d a t a t h a t shows

the r e l a t i v e s i g n i f i c a n c e t o students o f some f a c t o r s which

77

influence drop-out and persistence decisions i n distance

education (Table I I ) . The p a r t i c i p a t i o n rates reported i n

Table II indicate the strength of the categories by showing

the extent to which d i f f e r e n t p a r t i c i p a n t s i n the study

reported the same kind of incident as hindering or f a c i l i ­

t a t i n g t h e i r goals. As well, differences and s i m i l a r i t i e s

between completers and non-completers emerged, both i n par­

t i c i p a t i o n rates i n various categories and i n the r a t i o of

f a c i l i t a t i n g to hindering incidents within p a r t i c u l a r

categories (Table III and IV). Although the t o t a l number of

incidents reported by each of the two groups was r e l a t i v e to

t h e i r respective s i z e (for example, completers made up 37.5%

of the group and reported 40.75% of the i n c i d e n t s ) , the

non-completers reported a higher o v e r a l l r a t i o of hindering

to f a c i l i t a t i n g incidents. I t i s noteworthy that both

groups reported more hindering incidents than f a c i l i t a t i n g

ones. This f i n d i n g probably r e f l e c t s the d i f f i c u l t y of

study at a distance f o r adult part-time students.

Differences and s i m i l a r i t i e s within p a r t i c u l a r

categories are addressed below along with other major f i n d ­

ings.

Change i n Time Available or Circumstances

By f a r the strongest category was 'Change i n Time

Available or Circumstances', i n which 80% of students

reported incidents (Table I I ) . In t o t a l , 56 incidents were

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reported, 52 of which were hindering (Table I I ) . This f i n d ­

ing i s consistent with Bean and Metzner's (1985) model of

a t t r i t i o n which emphasized the impact of the external

environment on adult part-time students. I t i s also con­

s i s t e n t with the study by Rekkedal (1981) who concluded that

the most s i g n i f i c a n t factors i n drop-out from distance edu­

cation were not inherent i n the study method, but rather

were the same factors which a f f e c t a l l adult part-time stu­

dents, namely, competing demands for t h e i r time and energy

and unforeseen changes i n t h e i r circumstances.

The highest r a t i o of hindering to f a c i l i t a t i n g

incidents (52 to 4) was reported i n the 'Change i n Time

Available/Circumstances Category' (Table I I ) . Both com­

pl e t e r s and non-completers had high p a r t i c i p a t i o n rates, 87%

and 76% r e s p e c t i v e l y (Table I I I ) . However, i t i s s i g n i f i ­

cant that the p e r s i s t e r s reported almost as many hindering

incidents i n t h i s category as the non-completers (Table IV).

Throughout the distance education l i t e r a t u r e , a

change i n circumstances i s the most often provided reason

f o r drop-out. While the findings of t h i s study support t h i s

notion, they also show that the kind of incident which held

non-completers back also affected completers. Apparently,

the completers responded d i f f e r e n t l y to the incidents. An

i n t e r a c t i o n a l model of a t t r i t i o n f o r distance education

would a s s i s t i n examining how a change i n circumstances

i n t e r a c t s with other variables, such as the perceived

79

u t i l i t y of the course and academic a b i l i t y , to produce per­

sistence or a withdrawal decision.

Personal R e a l i z a t i o n

The category with the second highest p a r t i c i p a t i o n

rate (63% of students reported incidents) was 'Personal

Rea l i z a t i o n ' , r e f l e c t i n g incidents when students became

aware of something about themselves which affected t h e i r

persistence, such as suddenly f e e l i n g capable of study

(Table I I ) .

Awareness or personal r e a l i z a t i o n s are not s p e c i f i ­

c a l l y r e f e r r e d to i n the l i t e r a t u r e , but personal develop­

ment i s . Lenz and Schaevitz (cited i n Greenfeig and Gold­

berg, 1984) talked about adult students' "... renewed search

f o r i d e n t i t y , because many returning adults have neglected

t h e i r own goals and devoted most of t h e i r energies to help­

ing others a t t a i n t h e i r goals" (p.81). Following from t h i s ,

Bean and Metzner (1985) discussed how the adult student's

i n t e l l e c t u a l development through t h e i r course work c o n t r i ­

buted to t h e i r personal development. They went on to point

out that both Spady and Tinto "... concluded that students'

perceptions of t h e i r i n t e l l e c t u a l development was a personal

development factor that was p o s i t i v e l y associated with t h e i r

persistence i n college" (p. 523), and that t h i s conclusion

was supported by several studies of other researchers. More

research i s required to explore the kinds of personal

80

r e a l i z a t i o n s which a f f e c t persistence, and to t e s t the r e l i ­

a b i l i t y of t h i s category as a strong factor. In t h i s study,

personal r e a l i z a t i o n was found to be a important factor.

In the 'Personal Realization' category, there were

not s i g n i f i c a n t l y more hindering incidents (21) than f a c i l i ­

t a t i n g incidents (16) reported (Table I I ) . More non-

completers (68%) than completers (53%) reported incidents i n

t h i s category but the r a t i o of f a c i l i t a t i n g to hindering

incidents was about the same f o r both groups (Tables III and

IV). I t may be that the non-completers are les s personally

aware than p e r s i s t e r s on entry, and hence experience more

personal r e a l i z a t i o n s as a r e s u l t of attempting studies, but

further research i s required before conclusions can be

reached.

Personalized I n s t r u c t i o n a l Support

F i f t y per cent of students reported incidents i n the

category 'Personalized Instr u c t i o n a l Support' (Table I I ) .

This category includes incidents related to the academic

support which students receive from t h e i r tutors.

The strength of the category i s consistent with

findings that tutor i n t e r a c t i o n i s important to persistence

i n distance education (Rekkedal, 1981; Woodley and P a r l e t t ,

1983; Sweet, 1982). However, i t should be noted that not

a l l i n t e r a c t i o n i s perceived as p o s i t i v e . Although the

81

study showed that i n s t r u c t i o n a l support from the tutor i s a

powerful fa c t o r i n persistence, i t also showed that the

e f f e c t can be negative as often as i t i s p o s i t i v e . About an

equal percentage of completers and non-completers reported

incidents i n t h i s category, and both groups reported almost

as many hindering incidents as f a c i l i t a t i n g (Tables I I I and

IV). Hindering incidents usually occurred when the tutor

was perceived as not caring about the student. Sweet (1982)

discussed the need for instru c t o r s to be "responsive and

supportive i n t h e i r interactions with students". (p. 8).

In a review of l i t e r a t u r e on a t t r i t i o n and retention i n com­

munity colleges, Rounds (1984) c i t e d a large number of stu­

dies which pointed to the need f o r improvement of f a c u l t y

t r a i n i n g i n i n s t r u c t i o n a l approaches. She quoted from

Moore: "Too many teachers consider the task of teaching the

high r i s k student ... to be academic s o c i a l work" (Rounds,

1984, p. 8). She concluded that "... there remain on cam­

puses ... many of the more t r a d i t i o n a l , academically

oriented i n s t r u c t o r s who continue to f e e l that, while under-

prepared students may have the r i g h t to an education, i t

should not be i n t h e i r courses" (p. 10). This type of a t t i ­

tude i s a concern f o r open distance education u n i v e r s i t i e s

where, on one hand, t r a d i t i o n a l academics are r e c r u i t e d to

enhance academic q u a l i t y and i n s t i t u t i o n a l c r e d i b i l i t y

while, on the other hand, non-traditional students (older,

part-time, i n f u l l - t i m e employment) are attracted by the

openness and f l e x i b i l i t y .

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Discovery About the Course

The category, 'Discovery about the Course' had a

p a r t i c i p a t i o n rate of 43% (Table I I ) , and included incidents

when the student found out something about the course which

he or she had not known previously. The incidents usually

occurred when the students received t h e i r course packages

subsequent to r e g i s t e r i n g . Of the t o t a l of 27 incidents

reported, 18 were hindering (Table I I ) . A higher percentage

of the completers (53%) than non-completers (36%) reported

incidents i n t h i s category (Table I I I ) . However, while the

completers had almost an equal number of hindering and

f a c i l i t a t i n g incidents, the non-completers had a 12 to 2

r a t i o of hindering to f a c i l i t a t i n g incidents i n t h i s

category (Table IV). In other words, although a smaller

percentage of drop-outs than completers made discoveries

about the course which affected t h e i r persistence, the

discoveries which they did make were a hindrance to them.

Although a t t r i t i o n l i t e r a t u r e does not s p e c i f i c a l l y

discuss how discoveries about courses or the i n s t i t u t i o n

a f f e c t persistence, some of the most commonly recommended

retention strategies are entry counselling and academic

advising, and or i e n t a t i o n programs which "present a meaning­

f u l and accurate picture of the i n s t i t u t i o n " . (Lenning et

a l . , 1980, p. 97). These strategies are obviously intended

to avoid 'surprises' f o r the student. More research i s

needed to see why some students experience t h i s and not

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others. For example, i t may be that those students with no

post-secondary experience reported most of the incidents i n

t h i s category.

Encouragement/Support from Outside the University

Forty-three per cent of the students reported

incidents when support (or lack of i t ) from outside of the

u n i v e r s i t y had an impact on t h e i r persistence (Table I I ) .

The strength of the category supported Bean and Metzner

(1985) i n t h e i r premise that external encouragement and sup­

port were important to the persistence of adult part-time

students.

Two important findings emerged about t h i s category.

The f i r s t i s that almost a l l incidents were f a c i l i t a t i n g (20

out of 22, Table I I ) . The second i s that, although the

r a t i o between f a c i l i t a t i n g and hindering incidents (10 to 1)

was the same f o r completers and non-completers, the com­

pl e t e r s reported a much higher percentage of incidents (60%)

than the non-completers (32%). The completers perceived

more support from outside the u n i v e r s i t y f o r t h e i r studies

than d i d the non-completers. I t i s not c l e a r whether they

a c t u a l l y received more support, were more s k i l l e d i n obtain­

ing i t , or were i n a better p o s i t i o n to receive i t than were

the non-completers.

84

Course Design

The next highest p a r t i c i p a t i o n rate (38%) was i n the

category, 'Course Design', which included a l l incidents to

do with the course package i t s e l f : the i n s t r u c t i o n s given,

support materials, examinations, and general layout (Table

I I ) . For example, a number of students found i t d i f f i c u l t

to know where to s t a r t when they opened the course package

or found c e r t a i n i n s t r u c t i o n s confusing.

Woodley and P a r l e t t (1983) referred to "badly

designed course packages" (p. 6) as contributing to a t t r i ­

t i o n at The Open University i n B r i t a i n , and Bartels (1982)

addressed the issue of the distance education course

author's tendency to 'overwrite' the package because i t

would be seen and 'judged' by colleagues. F i f t e e n of the 20

incidents reported by students i n the 'Course Design'

category were hindering (Table I I ) . Tables III and IV show

that a much higher percentage of completers (60%) than non-

completers (24%) reported incidents i n t h i s category, and

they also had a higher r a t i o of hindering to f a c i l i t a t i n g

incidents (10 to 2) compared to the non-completers (5 to 3).

This may have been due to the completers having more

i n t e r a c t i o n with t h e i r course materials or that they were

more adept at recognizing problems with the package. At any

rate, the incidents d i d not keep them from p e r s i s t i n g i n

t h e i r courses so c e r t a i n other variables must have been

present which enabled them to continue despite problems with

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the course packages. One tentative conclusion from these

findings may be that distance education course design i s not

as important a factor as i s currently thought.

Pre-Course Preparation/Prior Expectations

The 'Pre-Course Preparation/Prior Expectation*

category had a p a r t i c i p a t i o n rate of 35% (Table I I ) , and

included incidents which occurred p r i o r to s t a r t i n g the

course (such as seeing a counsellor) or occurred as a r e s u l t

of expectations held before s t a r t i n g the course (such as

doubting one's academic a b i l i t i e s ) . Thirteen out of the 18

incidents reported i n t h i s category were hindering.

This f i n d i n g provides further support f o r those stu­

dies which recommend retention strategies such as pre-

enrolment support services (Lenning et a l . f 1980; Rounds,

1985; Pantages and Creedon, 1978). Tables III and IV show

that only 27% of completers compared to 40% of non-

completers reported incidents i n t h i s category, and the

non-completers reported a much higher r a t i o of hindering to

f a c i l i t a t i n g incidents (10 to 3) than did the completers (3

to 2). I t may be that the same factors which motivate com­

pl e t e r s i n t h e i r courses motivate them to seek information

and other types of assistance ( s k i l l s assessment, counsel­

l i n g , academic advising) p r i o r to s t a r t i n g t h e i r courses, or

perhaps they are more experienced students. However, i t i s

c l e a r that t h i s category of incidents was more s i g n i f i c a n t

86

i n a hindering way for the non-completers than f o r the com­

p l e t e r s .

Deadlines and Schedules

One quarter of the students reported incidents i n

the 'Deadlines and Schedules' category (Table I I ) . This

category included incidents when students' persistence was

affected by ei t h e r the presence or absence of deadlines

and/or schedules. Ten of the 13 incidents were f a c i l i t a t i n g

and, i n a l l cases, had to do with the presence of deadlines,

e i t h e r self-imposed or imposed by others. A much higher

percentage of the completers (40%) reported incidents i n

t h i s category than d i d the non-completers (16%, Table I I I ) .

Table IV shows that the completers had a noticeably higher

r a t i o of f a c i l i t a t i n g to hindering incidents (7 to 1) than

the non-completers (3 to 2).

These findings are consistent with the r e s u l t s of

comparative studies of i n s t i t u t i o n a l 'pacing' and ' s e l f -

pacing 1 practices i n distance education i n s t i t u t i o n s which

co n s i s t e n t l y demonstrate higher completion rates f o r stu­

dents who are paced by i n s t i t u t i o n a l deadlines and schedules

(see, f o r example, the studies c i t e d by Coldeway, 1982a, p.

33). A research study by D i S i l v e s t r o and Markowitz (1982),

which reported on the re l a t i o n s h i p between learning con­

t r a c t s and correspondence study, showed that s t r i c t con­

t r a c t s c onsistently helped students to get a prompt s t a r t

8 7

but d i d not influence completion rates. The r e s u l t s of t h i s

study showed that the presence of deadlines were reported as

having a p o s i t i v e e f f e c t , but were a s i g n i f i c a n t factor only

for the completers. I t may be that the non-completers did

not know how to schedule t h e i r studies and d i d nothing to

use deadlines i n the same way as the completers did. For

the most part, the deadlines which the completers mentioned

were self-imposed.

Course Content

Twenty-three per cent of students reported incidents

i n the 'Course Content' category (Table I I ) . This category

included incidents when students reported experiences to do

with the subject matter of the course as opposed to i t s

design, and usually had to do with l e v e l of i n t e r e s t .

Twelve incidents were reported i n t o t a l , f i v e hindering and

seven f a c i l i t a t i n g . Unlike the findings i n the category,

'Course Design', marked differences were not apparent

between completers and non-completers. Although non-

completers reported nine of the 1 2 incidents, the p a r t i c i p a ­

t i o n rates by students were s i m i l a r for both groups (Tables

II I and IV). There were no strong trends i n ei t h e r a f a c i l ­

i t a t i n g or hindering d i r e c t i o n . I t may be that, f o r one or

two of the non-completers, course content was an important

factor which would account for more incidents being reported

by them. Course content, as i t re l a t e s to the student's

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l e v e l of i n t e r e s t , has been mentioned as a factor i n per­

sistence i n distance education. Bartels (1982) noted that

drop-outs were les s s a t i s f i e d than p e r s i s t e r s with course

content and emphasized the importance of students being able

to choose courses according to t h e i r i n t e r e s t s .

Student Interaction with the I n s t i t u t i o n

There were three basic categories with a 20% comple­

t i o n rate (Table I I ) . The f i r s t of these was 'Student

Interaction with the I n s t i t u t i o n ' which included a l l contact

which the student had with the i n s t i t u t i o n by mail, t e l e ­

phone or i n person, with the exception of academic support

received from the telephone tutor. While t h i s d i d not

appear to be a s i g n i f i c a n t factor for completers (only one

reported an i n c i d e n t ) , i t appeared to be of some importance

to the non-completers (seven reported incidents, Table I I I ) .

Out of the nine incidents reported by non-completers, s i x

were f a c i l i t a t i n g but apparently not enough to see them

through to course completion. I t i s of note that students

reported both d i r e c t e f f e c t s of having contact, such as

"giving them a boost", and i n d i r e c t e f f e c t s , such as getting

a bad impression of the i n s t i t u t i o n . I t appears that j u s t

as t u t o r contact can have both a p o s i t i v e and negative

impact on persistence, so can other types of

s t u d e n t / i n s t i t u t i o n contact.

89

Marks Received

The second category with a 20% p a r t i c i p a t i o n rate

was 'Marks Received' (Table I I ) . A l l incidents i n t h i s

category reported by students were f a c i l i t a t i n g (Table II)

but other students have reported to Athabasca University

counsellors the negative impact of low marks on persistence.

Low grades as a negative v a r i a b l e i n persistence i s also

supported by the l i t e r a t u r e (see, f o r example, Woodley and

P a r l e t t , 1983). A higher percentage of completers (33%)

than non-completers (12%) reported incidents i n t h i s

category (Table I I I ) . The completers who reported incidents

i n t h i s category had progressed f a r enough i n t h e i r studies

to receive marks, had the a b i l i t y to a t t a i n high marks, and

were motivated by t h e i r achievement. The same applies to

the non-completers but there were fewer of them i n t h i s

category.

P r a c t i c a l Application of Learning

The t h i r d category with a 20% p a r t i c i p a t i o n rate was

'P r a c t i c a l Application of Learning 1 (Table I I ) . This

category included incidents where students were able to

r e l a t e the content of t h e i r studies to t h e i r experience.

The incidents were f a c i l i t a t i n g to the extent that students

saw t h e i r studies as useful f o r p r a c t i c a l a p p l i c a t i o n and/or

t h e i r experience as h e l p f u l to t h e i r studies. There were

almost an equal number of f a c i l i t a t i n g and hindering

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incidents (Table I I ) . The incidents were viewed as hindering

to the extent that t h e i r studies were seen as redundant to

t h e i r experience and, hence, of l i t t l e use. Given the

emphasis on u t i l i t y of studies i n the l i t e r a t u r e on adult

part-time students (Bean and Metzner, 1985), i t i s somewhat

su r p r i s i n g that more students did not i d e n t i f y t h i s category

as a s i g n i f i c a n t factor. However, combining t h i s category

with 'Thoughts about Longer Term Goals' might have raised

the p a r t i c i p a t i o n rate somewhat. Students described the

incidents i n these two categories d i f f e r e n t l y so they are

reported separately, but they both r e l a t e to u t i l i t y of stu­

dies as defined by Bean and Metzner (1985).

The p a r t i c i p a t i o n rates f o r completers and non-

completers were i d e n t i c a l i n the ' P r a c t i c a l A pplication of

Learning' category and there was no marked difference

between the two groups i n the r a t i o between f a c i l i t a t i n g and

hindering incidents.

Thoughts about Longer Term Goals

The l a s t and smallest category was 'Thoughts about

Longer Term Goals' with a p a r t i c i p a t i o n rate of 10% (Table

I I ) . I t could be argued that the small number of students

(four) reporting does not warrant a separate category. How­

ever, these incidents were described d i f f e r e n t l y than those

i n the preceding category, ' P r a c t i c a l Application of Learn­

ing', which would be the most c l o s e l y r e l a t e d set of

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incidents. These were incidents when students r e l a t e d t h e i r

studies to long-term goals as opposed to immediate app l i c a ­

t i o n . These were f a c i l i t a t i n g to the extent that the stu­

dent already had strong commitment to a goal and knew what

was required to reach i t . They were hindering i f the stu­

dent had weak goal commitment or was unsure what was

required to reach the goal. There were only f i v e incidents

reported i n t h i s category, three hindering and two f a c i l i ­

t a t i n g (Table I I ) . As i n the previous category, t h i s i s

su r p r i s i n g considering that adult students are often

reported to take courses for career reasons (Bean and

Metzner, 1985).

Implications f o r a Conceptual Model

I t i s c l e a r from the findings of t h i s study, and the

review of the l i t e r a t u r e , that the a t t r i t i o n process i s a

complicated mix of student, i n s t i t u t i o n a l , and environmental

var i a b l e s which i n t e r a c t over time to produce a drop-out

decision. So far , the conceptual model which appears most

useful i n describing t h i s process i n the distance education

context i s the one developed by Bean and Metzner (1985),

s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r adult, part-time commuter students.

Their model proposed that withdrawal decisions were

based on four major categories of var i a b l e s : 1) background

and d e f i n i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the student such as age,

enrolment status, and gender; 2) academic variables such as

92

study habits and course a v a i l a b i l i t y ; 3) environmental

v a r i a b l e s such as finances, hours of employment, outside

encouragement, and family r e s p o n s i b i l i t y ; and 4) psycholog­

i c a l v a r i a b l e s such as perceived u t i l i t y of studies, s a t i s ­

f a c t i o n , goal commitment and stress.

Bean and Metzner proposed that these four sets of

v a r i a b l e s could contribute d i r e c t l y , i n d i r e c t l y or could

i n t e r a c t to produce outcomes of performance (marks) and/or

an i n t e n t i o n to leave which could lead to a drop-out d e c i ­

sion. They described four ways i n which the model was

i n t e r a c t i v e .

F i r s t l y , there were d i r e c t e f f e c t s between v a r i a b l e s

or between variables and outcomes, such as that which a lack

of course a v a i l a b i l i t y might have on a decision to drop out.

Secondly, there were d i r e c t e f f e c t s presumed most important,

such as the impact of study habits on marks. Th i r d l y , there

was p r o v i s i o n f o r the possible e f f e c t s of l e s s e r variables

such as Tinto's (1975) s o c i a l integration v a r i a b l e s .

Lastly, and probably most importantly, were the compensatory

i n t e r a c t i o n e f f e c t s among sets of v a r i a b l e s . The simplest

way to define these i s to i l l u s t r a t e with an example used by

Bean and Metzner. I t has been shown that environmental

var i a b l e s are an important factor i n persistence f o r adult

students. At the same time, i t has been shown that academic

var i a b l e s are an important factor i n persistence f o r almost

a l l students. Bean and Metzner proposed that, when both of

93

these sets of variables were favourable to persistence, the

student would continue, and, i f both sets were unfavourable,

the students would most l i k e l y drop out. However, i f

academic va r i a b l e s were favourable but environmental v a r i ­

ables were not, adult students would s t i l l be l i k e l y to drop

out because the academic variables would not compensate f o r

poor environmental support. On the other hand, i f there

were favourable environmental conditions but poor academic

vari a b l e s , the adult student would s t i l l be l i k e l y to per­

s i s t because, f o r them, environmental support could overcome

the academic va r i a b l e s .

I t i s c l e a r that the content of the sets of v a r i ­

ables and the r e l a t i v e importance of v a r i a b l e s i n an

i n t e r a c t i o n a l model of a t t r i t i o n i s e n t i r e l y dependent on

the p a r t i c u l a r student population, and what students per­

ceive and experience as being important to t h e i r per­

sistence. The factors which were reported as being c r i t i c a l

to persistence by students i n t h i s study can be used to

modify the Bean and Metzner model to r e f l e c t the distance

education context. The four major categories of va r i a b l e s ,

the outcomes, and the i n t e r a c t i o n a l e f f e c t s of the model

appear appropriate, but some of the context within the major

categories requires change. For example, one sub-category

under 'Academic Variables' i s 'absenteeism' (Bean and

Metzner, 1985, p. 491). This i s obviously not appropriate

to the distance education context.

94

Once the Bean and Metzner model has been modified

for the distance education context, i t could then be tested

for r e l i a b i l i t y and v a l i d i t y i n the same way that the Tinto

model has been (Terenzini and Pascarella, 1980), and could

be used to examine empirically the r e l a t i v e s i g n i f i c a n c e of

var i a b l e s which are associated with drop-out i n the distance

education l i t e r a t u r e .

I t i s proposed that the four major categories of

var i a b l e s i n the model could be modified as follows, using

findings from t h i s study. Additions are marked with an

as t e r i s k and proposed deletions are noted. Some factors

have been l e f t unchanged. This recognizes the appropriate­

ness of the ra t i o n a l e for i n c l u s i o n given by Bean and

Metzner (1985) to the student population addressed i n t h i s

study. The ra t i o n a l e f o r changes to the model i s provided

immediately below the following summary of the modified

categories.

(1) Background and Defining Variables

- age - enrolment status (*specify program/non-program) - residence (*urban/rural) - educational goals - high school performance (*if applicable) - *highest l e v e l of education achieved - e t h n i c i t y (delete, unless studying s p e c i a l groups) - gender

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(2) Academic Variables

- study habits - major c e r t a i n t y - *information) (intended to address 'Pre-Course Preparation/ - *orientation) P r i o r Expectation' and 'Discovery about Course') - academic advising - *study s k i l l s assistance - *assessment (intended to p a r t i a l l y

address 'Discovery about S e l f ) - *career planning - *deadlines and schedules/pacing - *personalized i n s t r u c t i o n a l support - *course content - *course design - course a v a i l a b i l i t y - absenteeism (delete)

(3) Environmental Variables

- finances - hours of employment - outside encouragement - family r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s - *change i n time available/circumstances - opportunity to t r a n s f e r

(4) Psychological Outcomes

- u t i l i t y (*includes ' P r a c t i c a l Application' and 'Longer Term Goals')

- s a t i s f a c t i o n - *personal r e a l i z a t i o n - goal commitment (*defined as importance of

completing the course) - stress (delete i n favor of more e x p l i c i t variables)

The f i r s t category, 'Background and Defining V a r i ­

ables', was modified using the information about defining

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the population (Table I ) . In the Atha­

basca U n i v e r s i t y context, enrolment status can be widely

defined as program and non-program. Since commitment to a

program of studies has been seen as a factor i n persistence

96

i n the l i t e r a t u r e , t h i s wide d e f i n i t i o n was seen as an

important v a r i a b l e to t e s t .

Residence i s defined as eithe r urban or r u r a l . I t

i s commonly thought that distance education students are

mainly from r u r a l areas which do not have a campus-based

i n s t i t u t i o n , but, i n fact, over 60% of the Athabasca Univer­

s i t y student population are from urban areas. I t i s specu­

la t e d that the two groups are d i f f e r e n t i n t h e i r motivations

for choosing distance study, and i n the outside resources

which are av a i l a b l e to them, such as l i b r a r y f a c i l i t i e s .

For t h i s reason, l o c a t i o n i s commonly used as a defining

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c i n i n s t i t u t i o n a l analyses of the student

body, so i t i s important to t e s t i t s s i g n i f i c a n c e f o r per­

sistence.

The Athabasca University open admissions p o l i c y

means that students have much more heterogeneous educational

backgrounds than at i n s t i t u t i o n s with more s p e c i f i c entrance

requirements. Since past educational achievement and

experience are consistently noted throughout the l i t e r a t u r e

as being important to persistence, t h i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c was

added to the model. High school performance was l e f t i n

because i t has been shown to be an important v a r i a b l e , but

students at an open u n i v e r s i t y may not necessarily have

attended high school.

97

E t h n i c i t y has never been an important defining

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of Athabasca University students nor does i t

appear as an important factor i n the distance education

l i t e r a t u r e . For t h i s reason, i t should be deleted unless

s p e c i a l groups, such as native students, are being studied.

A number of factors have been added to the 'Academic

Variables'. These a l l f a l l into the category of retention

strategies to be tested. Bean and Metzner (1985) suggest

that, i f major e f f o r t s are being made by an i n s t i t u t i o n to

address a t t r i t i o n through p a r t i c u l a r programs, these should

be added as variables i n t h i s category. The way i n which

the a d d i t i o n a l factors r e f l e c t the findings of the study i s

addressed more f u l l y i n the next section, 'Implications f o r

Retention Strategies•.

Change i n time avai l a b l e and circumstances was the

only f a c t o r added to 'Environmental Variables'. This was

the fa c t o r from the study which had the highest proportion

of students reporting incidents. I t i s also the factor

a f f e c t i n g persistence i n distance education which i s most

often c i t e d i n the l i t e r a t u r e .

Under 'Psychological Outcomes', there was one addi­

t i o n and two c l a r i f i c a t i o n s of d e f i n i t i o n s . 'Personal Real­

i z a t i o n ' was added because t h i s was reported by 63% of

respondents to the study and i t was seen as a psychological

outcome of t h e i r experience i n t h e i r courses which had a

98

d i r e c t impact on t h e i r persistence. An example of t h i s was

a r e a l i z a t i o n about being capable of u n i v e r s i t y work. U t i l ­

i t y was redefined to r e f l e c t the way i n which students i n

t h i s study described i t , which included immediate p r a c t i c a l

a p p l i c a t i o n of studies and r e l a t i o n to longer term goals.

Goal commitment was redefined as commitment to completing

one course as opposed to a program because t h i s more accu­

r a t e l y r e f l e c t e d the aspirations and behaviours of the stu­

dent population. As well, the defining c h a r a c t e r s t i c of

program/non-program was already included i n the f i r s t set of

v a r i a b l e s .

With the modifications described above, the Bean and

Metzner model appears appropriate to the distance education

context and, as such, can be used as a framework to more

c l e a r l y set out what i s already known about a t t r i t i o n and as

a guide f o r future studies.

Implications f o r Retention Strategies

The emphasis i n a t t r i t i o n research should be on

prevention, not p r e d i c t i o n . Once s i g n i f i c a n t factors

a f f e c t i n g persistence have been i d e n t i f i e d f o r a given popu­

l a t i o n , then retention strategies can be developed and

evaluated as variables within a model, as described i n the

previous section, 'Implications f o r Conceptual Models'.

I t i s encouraging to see from t h i s study that some

99

students p e r s i s t despite experiences which they perceive as

negative. I t may be that they have better coping s t r a ­

tegies, more experience and knowledge, a learning s t y l e more

na t u r a l l y suited to distance study, and/or a host of other

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s which predispose them toward persistence.

Cle a r l y , more information i s needed about p e r s i s t e r s . What

we do know from t h i s f inding i s that there probably are

avoidable drop-outs. Hence, i f retention strategies can be

developed which change students' experiences or the way i n

which they perceive or respond to c e r t a i n experiences,

a t t r i t i o n rates may be lowered as a r e s u l t . As Lenning et

a l . (1980) state:

The task i s not to eliminate a t t r i t i o n , a task that i s unfeasible as well as undesirable. Instead, the task i s to a s s i s t a r e l a t i v e l y small percentage of students to persist...A s h i f t of even a few percentage points i n retention s t a t i s t i c s could benefit i n d i v i d u a l stu­dents and have a major impact on the i n s t i t u t i o n . (p. 29).

Recommendations f o r retention strategies can a f f e c t almost

a l l areas of an i n s t i t u t i o n . The emphasis i n t h i s section

w i l l be on those concerning student support services, par­

t i c u l a r l y advising and counselling programs.

Recruitment and Information

Students need accurate information on which to base

t h e i r choice of courses, programs, and mode of study. Many

students i n t h i s study f e l t that there was too much emphasis

100

i n the information they received p r i o r to enrolment about

the f l e x i b i l i t y , open admissions and ease of enrolment, and

not eough about the r e a l i t i e s of being a distance education

student. Many students were shocked by the sheer s i z e of

the course packages while others did not r e a l i z e how much

they would be on t h e i r own. Accurate information programs

p r i o r to enrolment not only provide a sound base for

decision-making, but they also bring students' expectations

more i n l i n e with r e a l i t y . For example, group information

sessions can include an introduction to sample course

materials.

Orientation Programs/Assessment Services

Orientation programs are important f o r some of the

same reasons as information programs. However, they should

provide the student with an opportunity to f i n d out informa­

t i o n about themselves as well as information about the

i n s t i t u t i o n . This helps the student to see how well h i s or

her c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s match i n s t i t u t i o n a l demands. Sometimes,

adjustments can be made to enhance the f i t . Student assess­

ment should not be l i m i t e d to t r a d i t i o n a l types of aptitude

t e s t s , but should challenge the i n d i v i d u a l to examine such

factors as study habits, reasons f o r returning to school,

and learning s t y l e . For example, i f an adult i s returning

to school f o r s o c i a l reasons, or t h e i r learning s t y l e i s one

which requires i n t e r a c t i o n , then distance education may only

101

be a su i t a b l e mode of learning i f they have an opportunity

to j o i n a study group. Orientation should address ways i n

which the student can adapt t h e i r learning resources to f i t

t h e i r needs. Assessment of basic s k i l l s such as writing,

reading, and mathematics enables the student to judge h i s or

her readiness f o r u n i v e r s i t y study and, i f necessary, to

take remedial courses.

Orientation programs should include an introduction

to the kinds of coping s k i l l s necessary to deal with unfore­

seen circumstances. For example, s e t t i n g up a study

schedule which allows a month leeway might enable the stu­

dent to cope with a family i l l n e s s . I f possible, or i e n t a ­

t i o n programs should include s i g n i f i c a n t others to give them

an idea of how the students' return to school w i l l a f f e c t

them, and how they might help. A l t e r n a t i v e l y , the orienta­

t i o n program can openly address the issue of e n l i s t i n g the

help of others i n pursuing educational goals.

Other Counselling Programs

A v a r i e t y of other counselling programs are required

to f a c i l i t a t e persistence. Probably the most important of

these are study s k i l l s assistance, career planning, and

c r i s i s counselling. Study s k i l l s programs can teach stu­

dents s k i l l s which w i l l help them to meet the sp e c i a l

demands of distance study, from providing an approach to the

learning materials to teaching strategies f o r getting family

102

support. Career p l a n n i n g h e l p s students t o c l a r i f y t h e i r

long-term g o a l s and t o see how t h e i r study f i t s i n t o t h e i r

p l a n s . I t may i n c r e a s e the p e r c e i v e d u t i l i t y o f t h e i r

c o u r s e s o r h e l p them t o choose a more a p p r o p r i a t e d i r e c t i o n .

C r i s i s c o u n s e l l i n g , w i t h an emphasis on t e a c h i n g coping

s t r a t e g i e s , can h e l p students through u n f o r e s e e n c i r ­

cumstances such as marriage break-up, employment l a y o f f or

i l l n e s s .

S t a f f Development Role f o r C o u n s e l l o r s

C o u n s e l l o r s can a l s o p l a y a r o l e i n s t a f f develop­

ment programs w i t h f a c u l t y , t u t o r s and s t a f f who have f r e ­

quent i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h s t u d e n t s . Students i n the study

emphasized the need t o f e e l c a r e d about and supported by

t h e i r t u t o r s . C o u n s e l l o r s , because of t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n a l

t r a i n i n g , have e x p e r t i s e i n communication s k i l l s which c o u l d

be used i n s t a f f t r a i n i n g programs.

Other Recommendations

I t i s s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t o n l y 2 0 % o f students i n the

study mentioned c o n t a c t w i t h the i n s t i t u t i o n o t h e r than

t h e i r t u t o r c o n t a c t as b e i n g a s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r i n t h e i r

p e r s i s t e n c e . Many students had not had any c o n t a c t w i t h the

i n s t i t u t i o n o t h e r than the p a s s i n g o f form l e t t e r s and forms

through the m a i l . They were o f t e n s u r p r i s e d and p l e a s e d by

the i n t e r e s t shown i n them by the i n t e r v i e w e r . Most o f t e n ,

103

they were t o t a l l y unaware of services a v a i l a b l e to them.

Clea r l y , the i n s t i t u t i o n must be more proactive i n i t s

approach to students. Services should be better p u b l i c i z e d

and, wherever possible, personal contact of a supportive

nature should be made with students.

I t should be noted that the same kinds of factors

which lead students to withdraw may prevent them from

accessing services. A v a r i e t y of approaches must be t r i e d

to f i n d out what strategies and what modes of d e l i v e r y work

best.

Only retention strategies which concern student sup­

port services have been addressed here. However, i t i s

recognized that the findings of the study also have implica­

tions f o r other areas such as course content, course design,

deadlines and schedules (pacing) and modes of de l i v e r y .

Limitations and Future Research

The sample f o r the study was representative of the

population of Athabasca University students i n a number of

important ways (Table I ) , and the population at the univer­

s i t y i s s i m i l a r to that of a number of other distance educa­

t i o n i n s t i t u t e s . However, some caution i s warranted i n gen­

e r a l i z i n g the r e s u l t s across i n s t i t u t i o n s . Major i n s t i t u ­

t i o n a l differences i n areas such as entrance requirements

and intentions of students to transfer or stay should be

104

considered. I t should be noted that the Bean and Metzner

model was developed primarily, but not exclusively, f o r s i n ­

gle i n s t i t u t i o n a p p l i c a t i o n .

In order to develop the model further, research i s

needed to confirm or r e j e c t factors found to be s i g n i f i c a n t

to persistence and to determine t h e i r r e l a t i v e importance.

For example, evaluative research i s needed to t e s t the e f f i ­

cacy of the suggested retention strategies. As well, work

i s also required to understand better and to t e s t the

i n t e r a c t i o n a l e f f e c t s .

Summary

A l l respondents were able to i d e n t i f y s i g n i f i c a n t

concrete experiences which hindered or f a c i l i t a t e d t h e i r

persistence i n distance education courses. There were s i g ­

n i f i c a n t l y more hindering experiences reported than f a c i l i ­

t a t i n g ones, which probably r e f l e c t s the great number of

possible d i f f i c u l t i e s faced by adult, part-time students

studying at a distance. S i m i l a r i t i e s and differences were

found between completers and non-completers. There was sup­

port f o r the premise that there are avoidable drop-outs i n

the f i n d i n g that p e r s i s t e r s often reported the same kind and

number of hindering incidents as d i d the non-completers.

Thirteen basic categories emerged from the 265

incidents reported. The categories which emerged as most

105

s i g n i f i c a n t , as indicated by the proportion of students

reporting them, were: 'Change i n Time Available or C i r ­

cumstances', 'Personal Realization' and 'Personalized

I n s t r u c t i o n a l Support *.

Factors i d e n t i f i e d by students i n the study as being

s i g n i f i c a n t , along with the defining c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the

population, were used to modify an e x i s t i n g model of a t t r i ­

t i o n (Bean and Metzner, 1985) to r e f l e c t the distance educa­

t i o n context of Athabasca University. Findings were also

used to propose retention strategies and to suggest areas

for future research.

106

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I l l

APPENDIX I - LETTER OF INITIAL CONTACT

Dear

The Student Services u n i t i s currently conducting a study regarding completion of distance education courses. Your name was chosed at random from a l l students i n t h e i r f i r s t course with Athabasca University. We are interested i n what you can t e l l us about your experience with the course regardless of your current status i n i t .

Someone from the Student Services o f f i c e w i l l give you a c a l l within the next week to f i n d out i f you are w i l ­l i n g to p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h i s study. Appointments f o r a t e l e ­phone interview (approximately 30 minutes i n length) w i l l be required of each p a r t i c i p a n t . Should you decide to take part i n the study, you w i l l have the r i g h t to withdraw at any time. Any personal information obtained during the interviews w i l l be held i n confidence. Results of the study w i l l be reported i n grouped form only, with no names attached to i t .

I t i s our hope that t h i s study w i l l give us more information about what helps and hinders students i n com­p l e t i n g distance education courses. As a r e s u l t , we a n t i c i ­pate being able to design more e f f e c t i v e counselling pro­grams to a i d students i n t h e i r studies.

I f you have further questions about the project, please f e e l free to discuss them when we c a l l you. I f you decided you would l i k e to be involved with the study, an appointment f o r an interview at a time convenient to you w i l l be set.

Thank you f o r your consideration.

Sincerely,

Jane E. Brindley

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APPENDIX II - CONSENT FORM

Consent Form fo r P a r t i c i p a t i o n i n the Study:

"Completion and A t t r i t i o n i n Distance Education"

The purpose of t h i s project i s to gather information which w i l l be h e l p f u l i n designing counselling programs for distance education students. Participants i n t h i s study w i l l be interviewed once by telephone for approximately t h i r t y minutes. A l l i n d i v i d u a l interview information w i l l be kept c o n f i d e n t i a l . P a r t i c i p a n t s 1 names w i l l not be attached to the reported data; i t w i l l be presented i n group format only. Participants have the r i g h t to withdraw from the project at any time without prejudice to t h e i r studies at Athabasca University.

I, , give my consent to p a r t i c i ­pating i n the above study.

Name: (please print)

This study i s being c a r r i e d out by the Student Ser­v i c e s Unit at Athabasca University. Any further information which p a r t i c i p a n t s require may be obtained by telephoning the Edmonton o f f i c e at Charges may be reversed on long distance c a l l s .