Title: CHARACTERISTICS AND PATTERNS OF ENROLLMENT AND COMPLETION OF FIRST-TIME ONLINE STUDENTS AT MIDWEST SUBURBAN COLLEGEAN

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to provide a descriptive analysis of the demographic, academic, and motivational characteristics of students enrolled in their first online course at a community college in metropolitan Chicago. The study sample included all online students, and a sub-sample of first-semester students, enrolled in their first online class, and examined the association between online course completion and the noted student characteristics. Finally, this study examined which courses captured the largest percentage of enrollment of first-time online students, and which online courses had the highest and the lowest percentage of non-completion.

Results indicated that online students were not a microcosm of the college's total student population: a larger percentage of online students were female, white, between the ages of 21-24, first-time college students, enrolled full-time, and less likely to be employed 15 or more hours per week than Midwest Suburban College's (MSC's) total student population.

Univariate analysis found the highest percentage of online course completion with first-semester students, females, Whites, students aged 40 to 55 years, and those employed full-time or part-time (less than 15 hours per week). No significant association was found between online course completion and full-/part-time enrollment, total credit hours enrolled, father's level of education, or curriculum goal. The sub-sample of first-semester students yielded similar results, except to note that as the number of credit hours increased so did the percentage of students who did not complete their online course.

Biology 105, History 151, and Sociology 100 captured the largest percentage of enrollment of any online courses and significant associations were found between online course enrollment and the demographic characteristics of race, gender, and age among first-semester students. Health courses had the highest percentage of completion; Spanish and Auto Cad Design courses the lowest.