EXAMINING THE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN NONTRADITIONAL STUDENTS' GENDER AND RISK FACTORS FOR ENROLLING IN ONLINE DEGREE PROGRAMMES

Abstract

This dissertation's goal is to answer the question of whether or not demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, and the presence of such features, may be used to predict whether or not a student would register in university online courses. These findings are based on information collected from more than 95,000 first-year college students in the United States in the 2011-2012 academic year as part of the 2012 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:12). Risk factors for nontraditional students, such as gender and age, have been demonstrated as useful predictors of online course enrollment. It is envisaged that this study will give evidence for the idea that leaders of colleges and universities may accomplish their purpose of decreasing the time necessary to get a degree by providing more courses online. More study is required to deconstruct the nontraditional student risk index outlined by the National Centre for Educational Statistics in addition to looking at other factors like ethnicity and GPA in order to offer a more in-depth analysis of trends in enrollment in distance learning programmes or better data collection over separation schooling the retention or success.