Logging in and Dropping out: Exploring Student Non-Completion in Higher Education Using Electronic Footprint Analysis

Autor/in	Buglear, John
Titel	Logging in and Dropping out: Exploring Student Non-Completion in Higher Education Using Electronic Footprint Analysis
Quelle	In: Journal of Further and Higher Education, 33 (2009) 4, S.381-393 (13 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0309-877X
Schlagwörter	Undergraduate Students; Dropouts; School Holding Power; Academic Persistence; Focus Groups; School Registration; Information Systems; Electronic Mail; Models; Foreign Countries; United Kingdom + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Drop-out; Drop-outs; Dropout; Early leavers; Schulversagen; Schulanmeldung; Elektronischer Briefkasten; Analogiemodell; Ausland; Großbritannien
Abstract	Student retention in higher education might be prioritised by funding authorities and universities but robust measurement of non-completion is elusive. This investigation explores untapped data sources to enrich understanding of non-completion. The analysis features the main undergraduate course in a part of a large UK university with retention concerns. Three data sources were explored; Registry, course administration and electronic information systems. Discrepancies emerged in data from them, with students' electronic engagement data revealing withdrawal patterns not evident in the other sources. The departures profile revealed by the information systems data is used to conjecture association between type of departure and stage of departure drawing on time-based retention models. The analysis also draws on material from focus groups of course administrators and tutors. The results demonstrate a new way of pinpointing and quantifying non-completion over time, electronic footprint analysis, which provides an additional basis for formulating and monitoring retention strategies. While not explaining why individuals withdraw, they reveal more about when they appear more likely to do so. Using data already captured they constitute feasible means of improving retention. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10