A national study of differences between online and classroom-only community college students in time to first associate degree attainment, transfer, and dropout

Previous research indicates that online learning at the community college level results in higher rates of withdrawal, failure, and dropout compared to classroom-based education (Xu & Smith Jaggars, 2011; Smith-Jaggars and Xu, 2010). The primary goal of the current study was to examine national data (US Dept. of Ed. Beginning Postsecondary Student Survey, 2004-09) on three outcomes for community college students with and without online education experiences. The outcomes were attainment of first associate degree, transfer, and dropout. In contrast to previous research, compared to exclusively classroom-based students, initial results suggest significantly more students who had engaged in online education had either attained an associate degree at the end of the observation period or transferred to a different institution. These results are interpreted with regard to their implications for policy and practice.