Research has shown that community college students are more likely to fail or get lower
grades in online courses than students in traditional classrooms. Yet, other
research has found those community college students are more likely to graduate
than their counterparts.
A study conducted by Peter Shea, associate provost of
online learning at the University of Albany, revealed that community college
students who take online courses are 25% more likely to finish their two-year
associate degree than students who didn’t take any online classes. He also discovered
that students who take online courses tend to graduate sooner.
“It’s a bit of a paradox,” he said. “They’re doing
worse at the course level, but at the program level—despite lower
grades—they’re finishing.”
Hans Johnson, a researcher at the Public Policy Institute
of California, reported similar results in a 2014 study. He found that while
just 60% of California community college students passed an online class, they
were more likely to graduate and transfer to a four-year institution.
Part of the reason for this contradiction may be that
it’s easier for students who are juggling a job and family to enroll in an
online class necessary to graduate, according to Jill Barshay in her column for The Hechinger Report. While those students may not be getting great
grades, they are collecting credits toward graduation.
“The question for community college leaders is whether
they should continue to expand their online courses to help a small minority of
students get through college as quickly as possible,” Barshay wrote. “It will
be tempting, since those students are boosting graduation rates. But online
courses are helping the most prepared students who are most likely to succeed,
not the struggling students who need the most help.”
