Counting Chickens before They are Hatched: An Examination of Student Retention, Graduation, Attrition, and Dropout Measurement Validity in An Online Master's Environment
Counting Chickens before They are Hatched: An Examination of Student Retention, Graduation, Attrition, and Dropout Measurement Validity in An Online Master's Environment
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在孵化前数鸡：在线硕士环境中学生保留、毕业、自然减员和辍学测量有效性的检查
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发表时间：
2013
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通讯作者：
Dawn Anderson
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作者：
Rustam Haydarov;V. Moxley;Dawn Anderson
本文探讨了高等教育绩效指标的定义、基本原理和计算方法：持续性、留存率、流失率、辍学率和毕业率。这些措施的优势和局限性进行审查相对于在线硕士课程。结果的样本的学生（N = 96）参加了多所大学的在线硕士课程主办的大平原IDEA跟踪超过六年。学生的独特特征和学位完成模式建议修改性能指标和增加跟踪时间。这项研究经验证明，现有的毕业和保留指标用于比较在线面对面的程序低估了至少三分之一的成功结果为在线硕士生。应谨慎进行这种比较，使用一致的术语，并认识到现有衡量标准的局限性。在政策层面，应普遍建立衡量学生坚持攻读硕士学位的标准方法。
This article examines definitions, rationales, and calculations associated with higher education performance measures: persistence, retention rate, attrition rate, drop-out rate, and graduation rate. Strengths and limitations of these measures are scrutinized relative to online master's programs. Outcomes of a sample of students (N = 96) enrolled in multi-university online master's programs sponsored by Great Plains IDEA are tracked over six years. The students' unique characteristics and degree completion patterns suggest modifying performance metrics and increasing the tracking time. The study empirically proves that existing graduation and retention metrics used to compare online to face-to-face programs underreport successful outcomes for online master's students by at least one-third. Such comparisons should be made with caution, using consistent terminology and recognizing the limitations of existing metrics. Standard methods for measuring student persistence in master's degree programs should be universally established at the policy level.