U.S. Virtual School Trial Period and Course Completion Policy Study

Gonzales, A.H. & Barbour, M.K. (2008). U.S. Virtual School Trial Period and Course Completion Policy Study. In C. Bonk et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2008 (pp. 2653-2660). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/30043.

Conference Information

World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (ELEARN) 2008
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
November 17, 2008
ISBN 1-880094-66-5
  Curtis J. Bonk, Mimi Miyoung Lee & Tom Reynolds
AACE

More Information on ELEARN

Authors

Abigail Hawkins Gonzales, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, United States; Michael K. Barbour, Wayne State University, United States

Abstract

Variations in the policies used by virtual schools in relation to course enrollment trial periods and course completion impact the comparability of attrition statistics. We contacted 159 U.S. virtual schools and received responses from 86 schools, a response rate of 54%. 68.6% of respondents had trial periods that varied from one day to 185 days. Course completion definitions varied considerably from remaining in the course irrespective of the final grade to receiving an A-, considered a passing grade. These differences were examined based upon geographical region and school type. We recommend virtual schools adopt multiple measures for calculating student attrition to allow meaningful comparisons between virtual and also with brick and mortar schools.