The Interfolio Blog

Retention rates and student achievement at community colleges have long been a topic of discussion in higher ed circles and beyond. Low retention rates and a student demographic that is difficult to engage leave many administrators and professors wondering how to tackle these problems.

In a new study released this week by WebStudy, author Gisele Larose argues that retention rates and student achievement can be significantly altered for the better by strategic use of learning technologies. The report, entitled "Student Retention at Community Colleges: Engaging a New Generation with Technology is Key to America's Future," Larose presents a number of cases and reasons why use of technology in the classroom and in the delivery of materials to students outside of class is vital to the continuing success of the American community college.

While Larose notes that many community colleges already use technology and CMS systems to deliver class materials, quality use of technology must also include methods and channels by which to engage students and make the experience more interactive. "It's obvious today; technology must offer more than just access," Larose states, "It must become part of the fabric of learning."

Part of the argument for increased and improved use of technology stems from the long over-used assumption that because millenials have incorporated technology into so many elements of their personal lives they would learn better via these kinds of channels in the classroom setting. But Larose goes much further, arguing that technology can allow learning to be more experiential and less about lecture, more flexible to accommodate schedules of a demographic that frequently works while in school, and more personal as learning can now be better tailored to individual students.

In short, the study is definitely worth a read. Larose makes some excellent suggestions as to how community colleges can improve the way technology is used by faculty, and draws direct relationships between the use of this technology and the improvement of learning, achievement and retention of students. For more information, and to read the full text, click here.