Why Students Drop Out of Online Degree Programs: A Meta-Analysis

As online learning continues to boost in popularity, more institutions of higher learning are focusing on a common occurrence practiced among universities and colleges offering online courses (Street, n. d.). There is significant growth in the online market because students working full time are the fastest growing part of the learner population and they bring commercial tuition dollars with them. It is estimated that five of six online students have some type of employment and would not be able to attend customary face-to-face classes (Thomas, 2001). The quantity of universities offering online education courses and the amount of students registering for online courses are on the rise.
Even though more students are choosing distance education, the literature shows that attrition rates are higher in online courses than in face-to-face courses (Angelino, Williams, & Natvig, 2007). Elevated attrition rates can have a negative financial impact on universities. Identifying the reasons students drop or fail courses is critical in determining what services and delivery methods the institution will need to provide in order to ensure successful completion of distant education classes (Nash, 2005). Bringing down the attrition rates is vital to supporting online education since attrition rates are a measurement gauge for government funds and the quality of education (Parker, 2003). There can be many explanations why students drop out of higher education courses, but those explanations may be restricted to students who are signed up for a distance learning program.
Since the Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act of 1990 was introduced, retention and graduation rates have been given a lopsided weight in determining the su...

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...hich are not experienced in traditional classroom environment (Isman, Altinay, & Altinay, 2004).
The high dropout rate among students enrolled in online courses has long been regarded as a problem and concern for educators for several reasons (Lee & Choi, 2011). One of the major worries for colleges is the cost of online education because of what it costs to manage and teach each class. Nearly all of this expenditure is acquired up front because faculty members require preparation to develop and instruct distance learning courses. For institutions, high dropout rates suggest that their online programs are ineffective and of poor quality (Willging & Johnson, 2004). If completion rates could be improved, institutions would make better use of resources without waste and administrators could plan budgets for future fiscal years more efficiently (Lee & Choi, 2011).