助学干预与促进选课交费的实验研究报告

A Research Report on the Experiment of Retaining High-risk Online Learners through Active Learning Interventions

学生流失现象以及如何减少学生流失是针对成人进行继续教育的网络教育学院越来越关注的一个重要课题,而学生不按时选课交费往往是辍学的先兆。本文通过北外网院在07年新学年选课交费期间对英语专业选课交费学生、特别是潜在流失对象进行的助学干预实验,统计分析学生未选课交费的原因,旨在通过数据的定量和定性分析,探讨哪些助学支持服务能够帮助学生最终选课交费,从而降低流失率。

How to reduce dropout rates has become an increasingly important issue faced by many online institutions. It is suggested that learning interventions should be made during the critical period of registration for new courses of study. Findings from relevant researches reveal that dropout rates are the highest when it is time to enroll on second-year courses and that those who failed in the first-year courses are most likely to drop out.This paper reports on an experiment conducted by Beiwaionline during the spring semester of 2007, aiming to uncover the reasons behind learners' decision to quit school before the new semester starts. The experiment involved 594 English majors. Proactive measures were taken in the form of email and telephone conversation to offer learning support to target high-risk learners with a view to retaining them. Quantitative and qualitative analyses show that there are diverse factors behind dropout. Previous course records are not the sole or decisive factor to influence dropout rates. Factors found to be related to dropout rates include length of schooling, tuition fees, course assessment mode and curriculum.