Grad wins award for research on online courses

UD alum Penny Merena (right) accepts the University Continuing Education Association's Applied Research Award from Evelin Letarte of the University of Maryland’s University College.

2 p.m., Nov. 16, 2006--
Penny Merena, a May doctoral graduate of UD, recently received the applied research award from the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA) for her study of retention rates in online courses. Presented at UCEA's Awards of Excellence ceremony held during the association's annual conference in Annapolis, the award honors Merena's UD doctoral executive position paper, "Increasing Retention in Online Distance Education Courses."

While a doctoral candidate in UD's School of Education, Merena administered a survey to students enrolled in online distance education courses offered through the division of Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS). She also analyzed student data to measure success and retention rates.

The study indicated that the type of technology used to deliver a course affected students' satisfaction and success and that students are most successful when the delivery system is web-based, as opposed to CD-ROM, videotape, or interactive television. Survey results further indicated that student satisfaction and success is closely related to the quality and frequency of interaction with the instructor. The research results will be used to plan future UD online courses.

Merena, who also has bachelor's and master's degrees in education, is a former elementary art teacher who has worked in corporate training for the past 20 years. She is currently a manager with Nationwide insurance.

“I have been working with educational technology for about 10 years, and I took a few multimedia classes at the University when I realized the technology was getting ahead of me,” she said. “I got interested in the topic [of online retention] while taking a course on research techniques. I was investigating what possible issues might be present with online courses. I became aware of the seemingly few studies on dropout rates and that blossomed into the study on retention.

“I approached Jim Broomall [assistant provost for PCS] as to whether UD Online had reviewed retention across all of the online offerings. Small studies had been performed within the department, but none across the entire group of course offerings. So, the study was born. The surveys and enrollment data analysis took a full year to complete.”

Online courses offer a solution for students whose schedule, geographic location or personal responsibilities prevent them from attending a campus-based class. UD has been offering distance- learning courses since 1988 and has won many awards.

Broomall served on Merena's doctoral committee, along with education professors Ratna Nandakumar, Al Cavalier, Chrystalla Mouza and
Fred Hofstetter, who served as Merena's doctoral adviser.

Merena said she plans to publish her award-winning work as a scholarly article in a research journal.

The University Continuing Education Association is the principal U.S. organization for continuing higher education and is among the oldest college and university associations in the United States. Its members rely on the association to help them to respond to the expanding numbers of adults and nontraditional students seeking continuous learning opportunities.

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