Challenges Faced By Online Universities In The United States

Challenges of Online Universities

Question:

Describe about online universities that are facing challenges in sector of higher education in United States?

The current study is focusing on the online universities that are facing challenges in sector of higher education. The report will be conducting various analyses of online colleges that are present in United States. Moreover, for the report 29 online colleges have been selected so that better result can be drawn.

Online Universities has been growing at rapid speed that provides academic knowledge to the large number of students. On the other hand, the continuous development in the online universities has posed challenges to the higher education sector (Morrison, 2012). The online education database is engaged in forming better online colleges that are accredited. In US, the online college has grown in significant numbers over the past years.

The method that can be used for the particular study will be based on descriptive analysis, scatter diagram and regression equation so that better result can be generated. Moreover, the methods can be helpful in discussing the results and proposing a recommendation for the universities (McCormick and Lucas, 2013). On the other hand, in order to discuss the descriptive analysis, mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum value will be calculated on the basis on retention rate and graduation rate so that better value can be drawn for online colleges in US.

Descriptive analysis of retention rate and graduation rate

	Retention Rate	Graduation Rate
Mean	57.41379	41.75862
Standard Deviation	23.24023	9.865724
Maximum Variable	100	61
Minimum Variable	4	25

Scatter Diagram with retention rate

Figure 1: Retention Rate and Graduation Rate

Figure 2: Retention Rate Scatter Diagram

RR(%)	GR(%)	(x-mean)	(y-mean)	(x-mean)2	(y-mean)2	(x-mean) (y-mean)
7	25	-50.4138	-16.7586	2541.551	280.8514	844.8656
51	25	-6.41379	-16.7586	41.13674	280.8514	107.4863
4	28	-53.4138	-13.7586	2853.033	189.2996	734.9001
29	32	-28.4138	-9.75862	807.3436	95.23068	277.2794
33	33	-24.4138	-8.75862	596.0333	76.71344	213.8312
47	33	-10.4138	-8.75862	108.4471	76.71344	91.21046
63	34	5.586207	-7.75862	31.20571	60.1962	-43.3413
45	36	-12.4138	-5.75862	154.1023	33.16171	71.48633
60	36	2.586207	-5.75862	6.688466	33.16171	-14.893
62	36	4.586207	-5.75862	21.03329	33.16171	-26.4102
67	36	9.586207	-5.75862	91.89536	33.16171	-55.2033
65	37	7.586207	-4.75862	57.55054	22.64447	-36.0999
78	37	20.58621	-4.75862	423.7919	22.64447	-97.962
75	38	17.58621	-3.75862	309.2747	14.12723	-66.0999
54	39	-3.41379	-2.75862	11.65398	7.609988	9.41736
45	41	45	-0.75862	2025	0.575505	-34.1379
38	44	-19.4138	2.241379	376.8954	5.023781	-43.5137
51	45	-6.41379	3.241379	41.13674	10.50654	-20.7895
69	46	11.58621	4.241379	134.2402	17.9893	49.1415
60	47	2.586207	5.241379	6.688466	27.47206	13.55529
37	48	-20.4138	6.241379	416.7229	38.95482	-127.41
63	50	5.586207	8.241379	31.20571	67.92033	46.03805
73	51	15.58621	9.241379	242.9298	85.40309	144.038
78	52	20.58621	10.24138	423.7919	104.8859	210.8312
48	53	-9.41379	11.24138	88.6195	126.3686	-105.824
95	55	37.58621	13.24138	1412.723	175.3341	497.6932
68	56	10.58621	14.24138	112.0678	202.8169	150.7622
100	57	42.58621	15.24138	1813.585	232.2996	649.0725
100	61	42.58621	19.24138	1813.585	370.2307	819.4174
TOTAL				16993.93	2725.31	4259.341

Y = b₀ + b₁x

b₁= 4259.341 / 16993.93 = 0.2506

b₀ = 41.758- (0.2506) (57.41) = 27.371

Therefore, the regression equation can be written as y= 27.371 + 0.2506x

Standard Deviation of retention Rate= sqrt (16993.93 / 29) = sqrt (0.80138) = 24.207

Standard Deviation of Graduation Rate = sgrt (2725.31 / 29) = sqrt (0.34019) = 9.69

Therefore, the slope coefficient (r²) is

R²= [(1/29) * 4259.341 / (24.207 * 9.69)]² = 0.39208

Regression Statistics
Multiple R	0.670245
R Square	0.449228
Adjusted R Square	0.428829
Standard Error	7.456105
Observations	29
ANOVA
	df	SS	MS	F	Significance F
Regression	1	1224.286	1224.286	22.02211	6.95E-05
Residual	27	1501.024	55.5935
Total	28	2725.31

	Intercept	X Variable 1
Coefficients	25.4229	0.284526
Standard Error	3.746284	0.060631
t Stat	6.786166	4.692772
P-value	2.74E-07	6.95E-05
Lower 95%	17.73616	0.160122
Upper 95%	33.10964	0.40893
Lower 95.0%	17.73616	0.160122
Upper 95.0%	33.10964	0.40893

The two variables that are retention rate and graduation rate represents that mean of each variable are different. For retention rate, mean value is 57.41 and for graduation rate mean value is 41.758. Therefore, it can be analyzed that retention rate is successful in engaging the students in comparison to graduation rate (Bejou and Bejou, 2012). On the other hand, it can be analyzed that standard deviation of retention rate is high to 23.240 due to presence of large variable values in the retention rate whereas in graduation rate many variables has same value and due to that standard deviation is low at 9.86. Apart from that, two universities that is National University and Florida University of US has maximum value under retention rate whereas in graduation rate only Florida National College has maximum value but that too at 61 only. On the other hand, the minimum variable according to retention rate is University of Phoenix and in graduation rate is Western International University and South University.

Descriptive Analysis

The scatter diagram that has been presented shows that the there is positive correlation among the two variables that is retention rate and graduation rate. As per the scatter diagram, with the increase in x axis there is also significant increase in the y axis. The retention rate as an independent variable also shows that they are positively linked with the universities and due to that universities are able to address growth as per retention rate values (Boden, 2011). On the other hand, it can be depicted that if there is growth of universities as per retention rate then the colleges or universities can also seek growth as per graduation rate. Apart from that some universities has less retention rate such as University of Phoenix and Western International University in comparison to graduation rate. On the other hand, the retention rate is higher as many students join the school and studies in same college next year (Haydarov, Moxley and Anderson, 2012). Moreover, it can be analyzed as per retention rate that a university has more pleas to the students. If there is one unit change in the retention rate then there is significant change in graduation rate.

In the next calculation that is estimation of regression equation, it can be concluded that independent variable that is retention rate is linked with the dependent variable of graduation rate of universities. If the retention rates of students are high then it can help in improving the graduation rate of student’s in colleges (Heuser, Drake and Owens, 2012). The regression estimation helped in knowing the relationship between two variables that is graduation rate and retention rate and their dependency on each other. Therefore, average value in context to dependent variables can be estimated if independent variable is fixed. Apart from that, the dependent variable of graduation rate changes when there is change in the independent variable of retention rate.

The estimated regression equation can be effective in predicting graduation rate on the basis of retention rate. The slope coefficient that is R² which is 0.392 shows that almost 40% of variation in the dependent variable (graduation rate) can be define by the independent variables (retention rate). As per the Regression Statistics, the coefficient of determination is around 44% which means that dependent variable is explained by retention rate. On the other hand, the multiple correlation coefficients are valued at 0.670245 which indicates that there is positive correlation among the retention and graduation rate. Further, it can be concluded that the there is no indication of statistical significance between the retention and graduation rate correlation as it fall in the range of -1 to +1.

The regression does not provide good fit as only 44% of the graduation rate variable is explained by the retention rate. On the other hand, the r square is not that high to show better results. Moreover, it can be analyzed that variables are not much closer to regression line as the variable fail to define 100% of the variance (Heyneman, 2012). Therefore, retention rate does not cover all the variance of graduation rate variance. The regression equation can be in the good line if the dependent variable would have been explained by more than 50% by independent variable. Moreover the SS residual value in analysis of variance shows that the given value representing dependent variable’s variation is not explained.

Retention Rate

After having a closer look to the result, it can be presented that the performance of the south University is not quite good in comparison to other universities in US. The retention rate of south University is 51% which is higher in comparison to Western International University, University of Phoenix, American InterContinental University, etc. Apart from that, the graduation rate is low at 25% which may show that the student may not be financially strong to have a full graduation on time (Hoyert et al. 2012). However, it can be concluded that students are not able to receive the graduation degree on time can be due to less preparation or lack of resources. Moreover, the university retains students for longer time but when it comes to providing graduation degree, university fails in doing so.

After considering the results, yes it is a major concern for the university and its performance against the other online universities. The university has a low graduation rate which means that university is not able to provide full degree course to the students in time and due to that university fails to retain the students. The graduation rate for University of Phoenix is 28% which is very low in comparison to Liberty University, Westwood College and some other universities (Letkiewicz et al., 2014). Further, the retention rate is low at 4% which means that Phoenix University is not likely to retain students as students transfer themselves Phoenix University to other university. The retention rate of the university is the most’ lowest in relation to other university of US such as Peirce College, Kaplan University, AshFord University, etc. Therefore, it can be considered that University of Phoenix has to improve their performance standard so that maximum number of students gets graduated from the university itself and also in due course time (Loft and Holt, 2010).

In order to improve the university’s retention rate and graduation rate, the senior management of the universities can follow the following proposals.

Solve Academic Issues: The academic problem has to be solved so that adequate preparation can be provided to the students in order to meet the demands of academic of universities coursework. The content of the courses can be delivered in interesting way that can arouse interest among the students (Mybrcc.edu, 2015).

Form Centers: For increasing the retention and graduation rate of students, the universities can form centers that can help in student success. The universities can provide centers such as Math and Science Tutorial Center or Tutor Lab that can provide great assistance in enhancing their knowledge and doing assignments with much positive approach.

Communication: The universities can conduct conversation with the students and congratulate them for doing excel in the courses that can motivate them to pursue in the same university till the completion of the courses. Moreover, the importance of holding a degree has to be communicated to the students so that they do not leave the university in between the course (Roggow, 2014).

Motivate: The students may feel de-motivated if they are not provided right guidance from the professors or teachers and it can lead to bad college experience. Therefore, it is important for the universities to provide right guidance and support to the students so that they can perform well and get higher grades.

Orientation Program: The program can be helpful for the students to seek information from the faculty advisor so that students can make a plan for the forthcoming fall semester. On the other hand, students can be able to understand the way of using online registration system, academic requirements, etc. Therefore, it encourages students to complete the course from one education institution only (Units.miamioh.ed, 2015).

Conclusion

The challenges in maintaining the retention and graduation rates in universities is tough task as many students either transfer from university to other or due to some financial problem they have to leave the course in between. The study focused on different statistical methods to evaluate the problem and recommendation has been provided so that retention and graduation rate can be increased.

References

Bejou, D. and Bejou, A. (2012). Shared Governance and Punctuated Equilibrium in Higher Education: The Case for Student Recruitment, Retention, and Graduation. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 11(4), pp.248-258.

Boden, G. (2011). Retention and Graduation Rates: Insights from an Extended Longitudinal View. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 13(2), pp.179-203.

Haydarov, R., Moxley, V. and Anderson, D. (2012). Counting Chickens Before They Are Hatched: An Examination of Student Retention, Graduation, Attrition, and Dropout Measurement Validity in an Online Master’s Environment. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 14(4), pp.429-449.

Heuser, B., Drake, T. and Owens, T. (2012). Evaluating Cross-National Metrics of Tertiary Graduation Rates for OECD Countries: A Case for Increasing Methodological Congruence and Data Comparability. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 14(1), pp.9-35.

Heyneman, S. (2012). Introduction: Student Progress toward Graduation: An International Topic of Concern. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 14(1), pp.1-8.

Hoyert, M., O’dell, C. and Hendrickson, K. (2012). Using Goal Orientation to Enhance College Retention and Graduation Rates. plat, 11(2), p.171.

Letkiewicz, J., Lim, H., Heckman, S., Bartholomae, S., Fox, J. and Montalto, C. (2014). The Path to Graduation: Factors Predicting On-Time Graduation Rates. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 16(3), pp.351-371.

Loft, B. and Holt, M. (2010). Increasing STEM Graduation Rates. International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 1(3), pp.76-77.

McCormick, N. and Lucas, M. (2013). Assessing the Effectiveness of the Redesigned Mathematics Program on Graduation and Retention Rates of Underprepared Students. Journal of Studies in Education, 3(3), p.92.

Morrison, M. (2012). Graduation Odds and Probabilities among Baccalaureate Colleges and Universities. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 14(2), pp.157-179.

Mybrcc.edu, (2015). Improving Student Retention and Graduation Rates. [online] Available at: https://www.mybrcc.edu/intranet/attachments/article/110/Improving%20Student%20Retention%20and%20Graduation%20Rates.pdf [Accessed 7 Jan. 2015].

Roggow, M. (2014). Improving Student Performance Outcomes and Graduation Rates Through Institutional Partnerships. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2014(165), pp.25-35.

Units.miamioh.ed, (2015). Guide to Improving Retention and Graduation Rates in Academic Departments & Programs. [online] Available at: https://www.units.miamioh.edu/oir/2020plan/Retention_Guide.pdf [Accessed 7 Jan. 2015].