Project: Student Retention Enhancement
Background
Online Student Support
Student retention is a critical aspect of ensuring the success and satisfaction of students enrolled in academic programs. The need for this project arose from the growing concern about student attrition rates within our academic institution. As an online student support specialist, our responsibilities encompassed crucial aspects of student onboarding and course enrollment. We also had access to comprehensive student data within the Canvas LMS. Recognizing the impact of these processes on student retention rates, there was an opportunity to leverage this access and information to proactively address and mitigate factors contributing to student attrition.
Our Goals
Find out why they withdrawn
Develop preventive action plans
Our primary objective is to comprehensively identify the underlying reasons for student attrition and dropout rates. By analyzing data and trends, we aim to pinpoint the key factors contributing to student withdrawals. Additionally, we endeavor to create proactive measures that effectively prevent and significantly reduce dropout rates. A pivotal aspect of our goal is to ensure that students are adequately equipped with all necessary resources well before their first semester begins. This proactive approach aims to enhance the overall student experience and promote higher retention rates within our academic programs.
Figure out why
Previous student data
Course survey results
Our next step involved rigorous data analysis from previous semesters, focusing on identifying patterns in student withdrawals concerning specific courses and the timing of these withdrawals. This process allowed us to pinpoint courses and times of the semester where withdrawals were most frequent, providing valuable insights into the causes behind these trends. Additionally, we delved deeper into specific courses, meticulously examining end-of-course survey results to gather detailed feedback and further understand the factors influencing student decisions to withdraw.
Canvas Insights
New Analytics Page of Canvas LMS
Assignment submission data
Last activity on the course
Student's current score
Canvas LMS serves as the primary learning platform for our online students, offering a rich repository of information vital to crafting a preventive action plan. This includes insights into their current scores, last activity on the course, and submission data for assignments. However, extracting this data involves querying and downloading separate reports within each course, with each report containing only a single data category. Unfortunately, there isn't a comprehensive report that consolidates student data across various courses. Identifying a better solution for accessing and analyzing this information became imperative.
Comprehensive Report
Identify at-risk students
Keep track of students activity
Students' current score
Upon delving deeper into Canvas functionalities, I discovered a range of APIs. Utilizing these, I systematically downloaded essential reports. With Python, I organized and cleaned this data, resulting in a comprehensive report. Moreover, I developed a risk index using the course data to prioritize students requiring the most attention, enabling academic advisors and instructors to reach out in time.
Portable Tool
It's time to scale up the comprehensive report. I realized that just sharing the code wasn't feasible; I needed a user-friendly tool. Using Python Tkinter, I crafted a GUI allowing users to select courses they want to track. This tool is portable and exported as a .exe file for easy sharing. All users need is the Canvas API key and a few prerequisite files, simplifying the process for anyone to use.
Summary
The Student Retention Enhancement initiative focuses on enhancing student engagement and adopting a proactive approach to reduce attrition rates. Our primary strategies involve continuously refining the Orientation Course to ensure students are well-prepared before their programs begin. Tracking student activities post-orientation allows us to monitor their progress effectively. By utilizing student surveys and the comprehensive at-risk student report, we've established better mechanisms to address potential attrition issues. This comprehensive approach empowers us to actively mitigate factors contributing to student dropouts.
