Student retention and success are key performance indicators within higher education. One of the key opportunities to address both of these lies with the support offered to students who fail a module but are entitled to resubmit. This study investigates the value of implementing a resubmission intervention to improve the quantity and quality of student resubmissions on a level 1 distance learning module. The intervention consisted of an online synchronous tutorial session and a supporting asynchronous forum. The effectiveness of the intervention was measured by comparing the resubmission and pass rates to a previous presentation with no intervention. It was found that resubmission and pass rates were higher where the intervention was used suggesting that a resubmission intervention can increase the quality and quantity of submissions. Whilst, these findings are useful, it is important to acknowledge that there are additional factors that can impact the quantity and quality of resubmissions.

The importance of making online and distance education successful has been dramatically prioritized due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Student retention is a key performance indicator in online higher education. Evidence suggests that within online distance education the key to retaining students is to encourage an engaging and supportive online community. Online asynchronous forums are one method that has been employed to promote such engagement. This study investigated the relationship between online forum activity and student retention amongst 21 tutor groups on an Open University Level 1 module. It found that the volume of tutor group forum activity had a significant association with student retention (p<0.05 two-tailed, Pearson r=0.53), with student contributions having a greater impact on retention (p<0.01 two-tailed, Pearson r=0.628) than tutor contributions. Although tutor contributions did not appear to impact student retention directly the number of tutor and student posts were highly correlated (p<0.001, two tailed, Pearson r=0.86). Results indicate that asynchronous forums can be an effective tool in promoting student retention in an online distance learning environment. Important factors that impact on student retention within the educational medium of asynchronous forums are evidenced. The implications of these findings for educators are discussed. Keywords: distance learning, student retention, forum participation, online learning community.

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