Learning Management Systems
Attendance, Grades, Course Materials, Discussion Board Engagement Top List of Most Important LMS Activities
According to a new report from Civitas Learning, the abundance of student data available on learning management systems (LMSs) can provide useful insights to support student success.
After a similar report released this past summer found that “LMS data is highly predictive of student success for on-ground and online institutions,” Civitas delved into which LMS engagement or activity was most predictive of success. The latest study, based on aggregated data collected using 4 million student records from 68 institutions, identified attendance, LMS grades, course material engagement and discussion board engagement as the four most predictive types of LMS activities.
LMS grades, for example, offer deeper insight into high GPA departures, according to the study. It turns out that students with higher GPAs are just as at-risk for dropping out compared to students with lower GPAs. Almost all of the institutions (99 percent) are losing more students with GPAs higher than 2.0 rather than below. First-year student departures are particularly puzzling, since most freshmen that left their institution had a 3.0 GPA or higher (45 percent), followed by students with a 2.0 GPA or lower (43 percent). “Understanding their unique GPA tipping points can help institutions to set benchmarks they can then use to determine where the GPA threshold for risk exists at their institution,” according to the report.
The full report, “Community Insights: Emerging Benchmarks & Student Success Trends from Across the Civitas,” is available for free download on the Civitas Learning site (e-mail registration required).
