| The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore factors relating to student completion rate of a self-paced e-learning course and provide insight into issues related to learner attrition in an online learning environment. The number of courses offered online by business, government, and the military has increased, due in part to the conversion of instructor-led courses to an e-learning format. The focus of this research was on a dynamics of international terrorism course offered by a military institution that was converted from a popular week long instructor-led course to a 13 hour self paced e-learning course. The primary issues explored in this study were why students failed to complete the self-paced e-learning course and the impact environmental, instructional, and personal factors might have played on the decision to discontinue the course. The increase of e-learning in business, government, and the military has generated interest in how to keep online students engaged, but there is a limited amount of literature regarding the students who dropped out of a self-paced e-learning course. This study targeted only students who had failed to complete an e-learning course. The 12 participants in the study were selected from students who had not finished the course and who volunteered to be interviewed. The findings of this study support previous research into e-learning attrition rates and has confirmed the need to attend to a variety of internal, external, and personal factors when addressing student attrition in an e-learning course. Technical issues, competing priorities, and the amount of effort required to complete an e-learning course were all major factors in the decision to discontinue a self-paced e-learning course. |
