Making Online Student Retention a

PriorityKaren VignareBeth MulherrinOLC International ConferenceOctober 14, 2015

Public university offering online degree programs to a diverse population of working adults

Largest open access public online university in U.S.

Premier provider of higher education to U.S. military since 1949

Part of the University System of Maryland

About UMUC

20th Century Historical Longitudinal Warehouse Siloed External

Reporting

21st Century Predictive Real-Time Dashboards Integrated

Institutional Insights

Continuous Improvements

Evolution of Data for Retention

Institutional Research Institutional EffectivenessBusiness IntelligenceCivitasPAR

Retention Resources at UMUC

One year retention (year over year measured with a cohort)

Re-enrollment (term to term metric that includes all students)

Successful course completion (percentage of students receiving a successful grade)

Graduation (1,2,3,4,5, and 10 year rate tracks the graduation status of the starting cohort over time)

Metrics at UMUC

Curriculum Redesign (2010)8-week Standard Sessions (2010)Community College Transfer (2010)Registration Policy (2013)Onboarding (2014) Just-in-Time Messages (2014)

Retention Initiatives

Fall 2011 Fall 2012 Fall 2013 Fall 201401020304050607080

71.2 72 71.6 73.2

60.5 59.5 61.5 66

StatesideOverseas

Retention Rates and Headcounts

47,416 46,213 41,197 41,356

Elements of a Data Model

Define UMUC success, retention and data definitions

Define baseline metrics Create a retention dashboard Include forecasting models

Elements of a Data Model

Use modeling to Test likely impact on retention when new initiatives or planned interventions are undertaken

Create models that build out retention impact by segments, e.g., demographics, academic programs, persistence, etc.

Continual Improvement

Design Intervention

Collect Data

Analyze Data

Refine or Sunset

Finding Insight into Retention at UMUC

UMUCRetention

Insight

Pre-enrollmentDemographicsEnrollmentLMS EngagementStudent PerformanceTransferMilitary

Factors Included in Predictive Model for Retention at UMUC

CampusClass LoadMilitary StatusAcademic PerformancePayment Method

Key Factors for Retention at UMUC

Process for Developing Initiatives

UMUCRetenti

on Insight ?

Analysis and Research Hypothesis Creation

Test and Learn Agenda

Initiative 1

Initiative 2

Initiative 3

Questions and Discussion

karen.vignare@umuc.edubeth.mulherrin@umuc.edu

Thank You!