West Chester University Digital Commons @ West Chester University West Chester University Doctoral Projects Masters Theses and Doctoral Projects Spring 2021 Impact of Online Education on Student Success Outcomes and Institutional Effectiveness: Study of Florida State University System Maria Graham mg941481@wcupa.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.edu/all_doctoral Part of the Educational Technology Commons, Higher Education Commons, and the Online and Distance Education Commons Recommended Citation Graham, Maria, "Impact of Online Education on Student Success Outcomes and Institutional Effectiveness: Study of Florida State University System" (2021). West Chester University Doctoral Projects.edu/all_doctoral/106 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Masters Theses and Doctoral Projects at Digital Commons @ West Chester University. It has been accepted for inclusion in West Chester University Doctoral Projects by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ West Chester University. For more information, please contact wcressler@wcupa.
Impact of Online Education on Student Success Outcomes and Institutional Effectiveness: Study of Florida State University System A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Public Policy and Administration West Chester University West Chester, Pennsylvania In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Public Administration By Maria Graham May 2021 Dedication I would like to dedicate my dissertation to my family, who supported me on this journey and every journey in my life. To my wonderful husband, Dan, who took care of the household and made sure I was fed when I isolated myself with my laptop for days on end. You are my strength and sanity in this sometimes insane world. To my son, Aiden, who is my pride and joy.
You taught me patience and resilience, even when I felt like I will never finish my education. To my loving parents, Alan and Elena, who provided me with all the tools in life to succeed. Your love and support mean more to me than you can imagine. ii Acknowledgments I would like to recognize my dissertation advisor, Kristen Crossney, Ph., whose incredible support and guidance kept me on track to completing my doctorate education.
I worked with Dr. Crossney as a research assistant and was lucky to be in several of her courses. She was not only my advisor but a mentor, willing to lend a sympathetic ear and provide words of encouragement. This dissertation would not be possible without her continuous support.
Big thank you to Jeremy Phillips, Ph., whose expertise in quantitative research was instrumental to my project. I still recall our conversation during my first semester of DPA, when I complained about the difficulty of the SPSS labs, and his response was, “this is a doctorate program; it's not supposed to be easy.” I would repeat this to myself like a mantra every time I felt like giving up but just kept pushing myself toward that finish line. Phillips was a tremendous support to me throughout numerous courses and on my dissertation journey. Thank you to Lisa Calvano, Ph., Associate Dean of College of Business & Public Management, who graciously agreed to be on my dissertation committee.
Her guidance and assistance with the project were vital to its completion. Finally, I would like to acknowledge all of the professors in the DPA program whose expertise and dedication to their students helped me throughout my academic journey. Their passion for public service is truly inspiring, and I will carry their pearls of wisdom with me wherever my career path takes me. iii Abstract Online education has been around for several decades, but only recently has there been a boom in its integration into the public higher education sector on a larger scale.
It proved instrumental to student education continuity and progression toward graduation during the COVID-19 health crisis and campus closures. Technological advances produce higher quality online courses that keep students engaged and allow for greater flexibility and accessibility, evident by its dramatic enrollment increase that outpaced the total enrollment at postsecondary institutions. Nine public universities in the State University System of Florida are analyzed to determine if greater enrollment in undergraduate online courses improves students' success outcomes and institutional effectiveness. A standard measure of these outcomes is graduation, retention, and time-to-degree rates.
They are frequently used by policymakers, academic leaders, and students to evaluate institutional performance and effectiveness at meeting students' academic needs. Florida also ties its higher education funding model to these outcome measures to allocate funds integral to the institutional operation. A one-way ANOVA and panel data analysis is performed to evaluate the relationship between student enrollment in online courses and its impact on graduation, retention, and time to degree rates. The results show evidence that larger enrollment in at least some online courses positively affects graduation and retention while reducing the time to degree.
These findings support that online education has more to offer than flexibility and accessibility and can improve student success outcomes and institutional effectiveness. iv Table of Contents List of Tables. viii List of Figures. ix Chapter 1: Introduction .8 Significance of Findings .10 Chapter 2: Literature Review .12 Current Trends in Online Education .14 Online education Policy Agenda .20 Student Success Outcomes and Institutional Effectiveness .29 Chapter 3: Concepts and Methodology .36 Study Design and Analysis .41 Chapter 4: Results and Analysis .42 Florida State University System Overview.43 University of Florida .43 Florida State University .44 University of North Florida .45 Florida Atlantic University .46 University of South Florida .47 Florida Gulf Coast University .48 Florida International University .49 University of Central Florida .50 University of West Florida.57 Time-to-degree in 4, 5, and 6 years .62 Total and First-time Full-time Undergraduate Enrollment .75 Chapter 5: Conclusion and Discussion .78 Discussion of Results .82 vi Future Research .85 vii List of Tables 1.
UF Descriptive Summary of Means:. FSU Descriptive Summary of Means. UNF Descriptive Summary of Means. FAU Descriptive Summary of Means.
USF Descriptive Summary of Means. FGCU Descriptive Summary of Means. FIU Descriptive Summary of Means. UCF Descriptive Summary of Means.
UWF Descriptive Summary of Means. Regression Summary: Graduation Rates by Percent of Online Students. Regression Summary: Retention Rates by Percent of Online Students. Time-to-degree 4 years Rates.
Time-to-degree 5 years Rates. Time-to-degree 6 years means across SUS universities. Regression Summary: Time-to-Degree Rates by Percent of Online Students. Regression Summary: Total Enrollment and First-time Full-time Undergraduate Enrollment by Percent of Online Students.71 viii List of Figures 1.
Graduation rate means across SUS universities. Florida State University System Graduation and Online Student Enrollment Rates. Retention rate means across SUS universities. Florida State University System Retention and Online Student Enrollment Rates.
Time-to-degree 4 years means across SUS universities. Time-to-degree 5 years means across SUS universities. Time-to-degree 6 years means across SUS universities. Florida State University System Time-to-degree 4 years and Online Student Enrollment Rates.
Florida State University System Time-to-degree 5 years and Online Student Enrollment Rates. Florida State University System Time-to-degree 6 years and Online Student Enrollment Rates. UF Online Core Costs and Revenue per FTE. UF Online Enrollment and Retention Rates.
UF Online Projected Headcount 2019-2024 .75 ix Chapter 1 Introduction Overview In modern society, higher education is no longer optional for the students who desire more direct access to a higher earning potential and a better quality of life. University graduates are shown to earn double what people with only high school diplomas earn, and almost six times more than a high-school dropout (DesJardins et al. Bachelor's degree recipients are statistically less likely to experience prolonged unemployment and face poverty (Letkiewicz et al. Larger numbers of college graduates have a significant impact on society as a whole.
A better-educated workforce fosters economic stability, reduces poverty and unemployment, decreases the need for welfare programs and government assistance, and increases tax revenue (Tentso et al. Making higher education more accessible and college degrees more attainable for a larger population should take precedence with academic leaders and legislators alike. Technological advancements impact almost every single sector and improve organizational performance, efficiency, and effectiveness. Public higher education institutions were falling behind to effectively integrate technology into their teaching model, unable to utilize its full potential.
The value of online education was fully realized when schools and universities worldwide were forced to close their doors to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students were forced to abandon their dorms and campuses in the middle of the Spring semester. Educators and government leaders had to act quickly to minimize academic disruption to ensure educational continuity for millions of students nationwide by tapping into new technologies and digital platforms that allowed for traditional curricula to be transformed 1 into virtual alternatives. In the face of a crisis, online education proved to be the only feasible solution, allowing students to continue working toward their degrees without an extensive interruption in their studies.
The global pandemic and its austere impacts must serve as a critical lesson to educators who still do not see the full worth of online education. When disaster strikes, online education will be a large part of emergency response solutions and a critical component of mitigation efforts (Sener, 2010). As academic institutions began re-opening their doors and welcoming returning students to campus, many educators are re-evaluating their coursework to decide which classes can remain online permanently. Academic leaders are faced with a choice of whether to integrate online education into their long-term business plan.
Online education proved to be essential during critical times, but it can provide a much more significant and sustainable impact on students and universities. Online education has been a subject of numerous studies for decades, and its effects on the higher education field continue to be a focal point for policymakers, educators, and students. Advocates and opponents engage in heated arguments about whether online coursework can be as effective as in-person instructions (Bowen et al. Proponents frequently cite greater accessibility and flexibility of online courses to allow more students to obtain undergraduate degrees in less time.
Past studies demonstrate that students at 4-year degree-granting universities enrolled in some online courses were less likely to drop out of college (Wavle & Ozogul, 2019), had higher degree completion rates, and earned their degrees faster than their on-campus counterparts (Shea & Bidjerano, 2016). Opponents, however, doubt that online education can provide the same quality of learning and improve student outcomes as face-to-face instruction (Bettinger & Loeb, 2017). 2 As the debate continues, undergraduate student enrollment in online courses is rising, outpacing total college enrollment (Bailey et al. The increase in online course enrollment is seen in college-age students and non-traditional students (Hamann, 2020).
Both populations of students cite flexibility and the ability to work at their own pace as the primary reason for enrolling in online coursework (Wallis, 2020). Older students, students with full- time jobs and family responsibilities, and disabled individuals who cannot participate in traditional learning models can now access higher education to obtain valuable degrees, giving them a competitive edge in the job market. The flexibility of online coursework shown to improve progress toward degree completion in specific at-risk populations, such as first- generation, low-income, and older students, allowing greater accessibility and ability to combine work and family obligations with higher education (Pontes & Pontes, 2012; Pacciano, Seaman, & Allen, 2010). The increased accessibility and flexibility of online education are undeniable, but can it also improve overall student success outcomes? A standard measure of student success consists of several outcomes: graduation, retention rate, time-to-degree, student debt, post-graduation employment, and others.
Timely graduation and rate of retention are also essential indicators of how well an academic institution is performing. The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 1965 (HEOA) requires all postsecondary education institutions that participate in the Title IV federal student financial aid programs to report their retention, graduation, and time-to-degree rates annually to the U. Department of Education and the Congress (National Postsecondary Education Cooperative, 2009).