Innovations 2011
Case Study , conferences , Retention , SmarterMeasure , SmarterServices 1 Comment »Innovations 2011, sponsored by the League for Innovations in the Community College, will officially kick off next week. Tara Boozer will be representing SmarterServices as an exhibitor and presenter. The presentation is called "Services for Retaining Online Students" and Tara will be co-presenting with Dr. Yi Guan-Raczkowski on Wednesday, March 2nd, at 9:15-10:15 am. Dr. Guan-Raczkowski of Middlesex Community College will be presenting findings of their online program and how they implemented SmarterMeasure™. To learn more about the findings read the synopsis of our most recent case study below!
The case study was produced by Middlesex Community College (MCC) in Middletown, CT. Over a three year period from 2008 to 2011, more than 2200 of their students took the SmarterMeasure™ Learning Readiness Indicator. This case study contains information about the integration plan that MCC used to encourage students to take the assessment. Their plan included promoting the assessment on their web site, in a video, printed flyers, information cards, newsletter articles, and presentations to faculty. SmarterMeasure™ was also integrated into their online orientation course. Distance learning staff were assigned to regularly monitor student scores and to communicate with the students about their scores. All of these efforts resulted in a culture in which students were aware of their level of readiness and aware of the resources the school could provide to help them succeed. MCC conducted a correlational study to determine the relationships between SmarterMeasure™ scores and learner success. They found statistically significant correlations between the construct of Personal Attributes and student grades. The study concluded that “personal attributes, represented by self-motivation, self-discipline, and time management, plays a very important role in student success of online learning.” MCC also analyzed the differences in grades between online students who did complete SmarterMeasure™ and on-ground students who did not. The finding of that study was that “Noticeably, before SmarterMeasure™ was implemented, 6% to 13% more students failed online courses than students taking on-ground courses. After the implementation, the gaps were narrowed, 1.3% to 5.8% more online students failed than on-ground students.” The finding implies that SmarterMeasure™ assessment helps “at-risk” students to do better in online learning. In other words, the use of the SmarterMeasure™ assessment has contributed to better success in online learning particularly for students who are more likely to fail. This finding has moved the distance learning support beyond technical assistance to inspiring students to be highly motivated and disciplined, accompanied with using appropriate study strategies to ensure greater success.
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