Why Do Our Online Students Stay?

Results of the study found that online students were significantly more likely to dropout than campus based students. While there is a lot of research in the literature about online instruction and its low retention rate compared with campus based instruction, concrete ideas about how to retain students are lacking. Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences (FHCHS) offers online program in nursing education enabling registered nurses to obtain a bachelor's degree. Now in the fifth year of the program, we have maintained an excellent retention rate ranging from 93 to 100%. Factors found to positively influence retention included: enhancing the interaction between students and their instructor, offering on-time students support, and maintaining at least one synchronous component among various asynchronous features. These strategies promoted the development of relationships between instructors and students and fostered linkages necessary for students to remain connected to their learning experiences and continue to their degree completion. Examples from FHCHS are provided to describe these strategies in action.