Improving Student Retention and Success Within the Context of Complex Lives and Diverse Circumstances

Through its more flexible approach, online learning is providing a significant opportunity for further widening of participation in Australian higher education. Increasingly, students from backgrounds and circumstances historically under-represented in higher education are able to enter online postgraduate programs based on prior learning and work experiences, not necessarily previous university studies. The online postgraduate student cohort now contains more students who may have little or no experience of university expectations, including those who are first in their families to study at university, let alone at postgraduate level. This more diverse cohort of students needs to be well supported within teaching and learning practices and broader support mechanisms to increase student retention and completion rates. While online postgraduate completion rates within Australia are higher than online undergraduate completion rates, they nevertheless still lag behind the completion rates for on-campus postgraduate studies. This chapter explores findings from recent research into the online student experience, applying them particularly to postgraduate online education. Based on these findings, this chapter proposes that the delivery of online postgraduate study cannot be separated from the social and cultural context within which students are living and managing busy and complex lives. It offers recommendations for institutions on strategies to ensure that the lived reality of the student cohort is properly understood and taken into account in the design and delivery of online postgraduate study, thereby enhancing student retention and success.