What Do We Know About Online Coursetaking, Persistence, Transfer, and Degree Completion Among Community College Students?
Abstract
Surprisingly, and despite the vast literature on the subject, there is little agreement on the most vital issues surrounding online learning in community colleges. While some studies report that community college students are hampered by online course enrollment, others have found that community college students who take online courses are more likely to persist and succeed in the long term. With this in mind, the present essay will review and synthesize the empirical research literature in order to establish what is known about online coursetaking and the effects on community college students with regard to course completion, persistence, transfer, and degree completion.
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Our study suggests that the student performance gap between asynchronous and face-to-face (FtF) classes may have been narrowing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While performance decrements associated with asynchronous online education in open-access institutions have been well documented (Xu & Xu, 2019;Sublett, 2019aSublett, , 2019b)), our study suggests that the student performance gap between asynchronous and face-to-face (FtF) classes may have been narrowing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
From Online Student Performance Under Synchronous and Asynchronous Instruction in California Community Colleges (2026) · cites this paper as Sublett, 2019a
Cites
Bernard, R. M., Abrami, P. C., Lou, Y., Borokhovski, E., Wade, A., Wozney, L., Wallet, P. A., Fiset, M., & Huang, B. (2004) · Review of Educational Research · doi:10.3102/00346543074003379 · Cited by 1,761 · see citing works
Shea, P., Sau Li, C., & Pickett, A. (2006) · The Internet and Higher Education · doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2006.06.005 · Cited by 740 · see citing works
Predictors of First-Year Student Retention in the Community College
Fike, D. S., & Fike, R. (2008) · Community College Review · doi:10.1177/0091552108320222 · Cited by 416 · see citing works
Choosing Between Online and Face-to-Face Courses: Community College Student Voices
Jaggars, S. S. (2014) · American Journal of Distance Education · doi:10.1080/08923647.2014.867697 · Cited by 382 · see citing works
Xu, D., & Jaggars, S. S. (2013) · Economics of Education Review · doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2013.08.001 · Cited by 359 · see citing works
Xu, D., & Jaggars, S. S. (2011) · Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis · doi:10.3102/0162373711413814 · Cited by 239 · see citing works
Online Course-taking and Student Outcomes in California Community Colleges
Hart, C. M. D., Friedmann, E., & Hill, M. (2018) · Education Finance and Policy · doi:10.1162/edfp_a_00218 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
Wladis, C., Conway, K. M., & Hachey, A. C. (2015) · Community College Review · doi:10.1177/0091552115571729 · Cited by 127 · cited 5× · see citing works
“…of studies also indicated that women were more likely to take courses online compared to men (e.g., Hart et al., 2016; Huntington-Klein et al., 2015; Johnson & Cuellar Mejia, 2014; Jaggars, 2013; Radford, 2011; Shea & Bidjerano., 2014; Sullivan, 2001; Wladis et al., 2015aa; Xu & Jaggars, 2011a).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialBambara, C. S., Harbour, C. P., Davies, T. G., & Athey, S. (2009) · Community College Review · doi:10.1177/0091552108327187 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Wladis, C., Hachey, A. C., & Conway, K. (2015) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2015.06.010 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Wladis, C., Hachey, A. C., & Conway, K. M. (2015) · Community College Review · doi:10.1177/0091552114555904 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
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Hachey, A. C., Conway, K. M., Wladis, C., & Karim, S. (2022) · Journal of Computing in Higher Education · doi:10.1007/s12528-022-09319-0 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Hart, C. M. D., Baker, R., Hill, M., Alonso, E., & Xu, D. (2026) · Research in Higher Education · doi:10.1007/s11162-025-09873-3
- Authors
- Sublett, C.
- Affiliations
- Pepperdine University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Sublett, Cameron
- ORCID
- Sublett, Cameron
- Venue
- Community College Journal of Research and Practice
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2018-10-09
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 813-828
- ISSN
- 1066-8926 (ISSN-L)
- 1521-0413
- OpenAlex
- W2897193242
- Cited by
- 19
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 4.05
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Community College Journal of Research and Practice (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Online and Blended Learning
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Research Studies
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Educational Innovations and Challenges
- Keywords
- online learning, online course registration, community college students, student persistence, transfer, graduation, course completion
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