Kaupp, R. (Spring, 2012). Online penalty: The impact of online instruction on the Latino-White achievement gap. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 19(2) 8-16.

Abstract:

Despite a substantial body of research on the effectiveness of distance education at the post-secondary level, little is known about the impact of online course delivery on the achievement gap. In California, the gap between white and Latino post-secondary student outcomes is significant and persistent, with Latino students over represented in community colleges and underrepresented in transfers to four-year institutions. There is a broad consensus in the literature that online courses produce outcomes at least as good as face-to-face courses. However, in California community colleges, students enrolled in online classes don’t do as well, in the aggregate, as their peers in face-to-face classes, experiencing lower completion rates and lower success rates. This explanatory, mixed methods study disaggregates statewide outcome data to assess the impact of online instruction on the achievement gap between White and Latino community college students, and examines factors contributing to this inequity. Online instruction was found to significantly exacerbate the achievement gap, with Latino students experiencing a nine percentage point lower success rate, grades that average two-tenths of a grade point lower, and withdrawal rates over twice as high, as Latino students in face-to-face sections of the same classes. Interviews with Latino students enrolled in online courses provided insight into the importance of relationships to Latino student success. The absence of a strong student-instructor relationship was identified as the key difference between their face-to-face and online educational experience.

Questions to keep in mind:

1. How did the findings of Kaupp's study compare with the assumptions that faculty and administrators held about what the major contributors were to the Latino-White online achievement gap in California's community colleges?

2. What were the main themes from Kaupp's qualitative data collection that suggested potential contribitions to the Latino students' dissatisfaction with online learning?

3. As a non-profit serving students in California, the state with the highest population of Latinos, does this case study impact the way you think about humanizing online courses? Reflect on this question.

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This work is by Teaching & Learning Innovations at CI and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.