I found the long 'Findings' section to be the most interesting and useful p[art of the paper (24 page PDF). Here, the authors don't tru to generalize or summarize (that's done in other sections), the just report what they heard from the 42 ODL practitioners surveyed and interviewed. The authors report "effective learner support - comprising online technical assistance, improved Internet accessibility, virtual learning evaluation, and fostering learner communities - is essential for enhancing completion rates" but that's part of a larger picture. Contrast this paper with the one on factors in student retention in a Malaysian Entrepreneurship Education MOOC (29 page PDF) suggesting those with the greatest internal locus of control (ILOC) were most likely to complete the course. If I had to summarize from both papers (and really, I shouldn't) I would say agency was the major factor at work here.
Today: Total: [Direct link] [Share]
