Trends in Student Enrollment and Experiences in a Collegiate

Level Alternative Learning System: The Case of La Consolacion

University Philippines’s Night College
Jose Maria Dominique G. Coronel
Research and Publications Office
La Consolacion University Philippines

Abstract

The study of student enrollment and retention can be linked to an assortment of reasons,
particularly in an institutions’ need to maintain resources (Tinto, 2007). The field has been
constantly changing, with the inclusion of online learning systems in the literature. However,
there is little or no research containing student enrollment patterns in alternative learning
systems. Utilizing a descriptive research design with the use of a College Student Experiences
Questionnaire and document analysis from pertinent offices, this study aims to create a
preliminary study of the trends in student enrollment and experiences in a collegiate-level
alternative learning system. The results show that there is a significant amount of attrition,
however the student experiences are found to be optimistic. Several recommendations are made
for further studies regarding the development of this research topic.

Keywords: alternative learning systems, student enrollment, student attrition, student retention,
La Consolacion University Philippines

I. Introduction

The oft-quoted sociologist Vincent Tinto, a distinguished professor and scholar in the field of
student retention and attrition, once claimed that students stay when they feel valued in an
institution, especially if they maintain close relationships with the faculty (1990; as cited in
Longwell-Grice and Longwell-Grice, 2007). More than ever, the study of student attrition and
retention within a school is linked with an institution’s need to maintain its resources (Tinto,
2007). However, several trends have passed in the study of student enrollment trends, and up till
now, the landscape on this study is changing.

One study reviewed the current literature concerning student retention within Engineering majors
(Geisinger and Raman, 2013). The researchers identified six factors drive students to leave an
Engineering program: classroom and academic climate, grades and conceptual understanding,
self-efficacy and self-confidence, high school preparation, interest and career goals, and race and
gender. They also provided that a gap in the literature is regarding the economic costs of
attrition.

Among the many facets of studying student retention and attrition include the study of first-
generation college students. According to Longwell-Grice and Longwell-Grice (2007), the
definition of who first-generation college students is still unclear. It primarily concerns college
students who are the first in their family to take a college degree. This same study tested Tinto’s
theories on first-generation students. They affirmed that there is an effect of faculty support to
student retention. It was also found that these first-gen students, while they are open to more
risks for departure, are most likely to complete their degrees on time (Ishitani, 2006).

One study identifies a number of characteristics relevant to the retention of students in a teacher
education institution (Maher and Macallister, 2013). The factors the researchers enumerated also
affirmed the earlier assumption of Tinto that student retention and faculty support are linked
together. The study of Maher and Macallister also lists down institutional support, with which
another study supports, claiming that an institutional climate of retention creates determined
student retention (Oseguera and Rhee, 2009).

A study by Azarcon, et.al. (2014) highlighted that private higher education institutions “have the
unique characteristic of being an institution of higher learning and a business entity at the same
time”. As such, their study is driven with the idea that students are customers, and as such,
behave in a way that they have preferences to consider in choosing a school. They found that the
quality of education affects the students’ decision-making process in choosing to stay in a
school. Other factors like quality of faculty and increase in total fees are affecting student
retention decision as well.

In the cases of this study in terms of its literature, there is little or no literature regarding
collegiate-level alternative learning systems. The nearest equivalent in the literature that
considers non-mainstream learning modes are from retention studies in online courses. One such
study explains that among others, the sense of isolation in online learning systems translate
negatively to student persistence in an online course (McMahon, 2013). Another study suggests
creating better programs for reporting student enrollment and attrition, as well as formulating
retention strategies that specifically cater to the stage at which an online course-taker is at
(Greenland and Moore, 2014).

The Case of La Consolacion University Philippines

Two studies have been previously made regarding student attrition and retention at La
Consolacion University Philippines. In the study of Zerna, et.al. (2014), the Night College
population had been considered in their study with 70 respondents. However, the details
regarding the response of the specific department have not been documented in the study. A
general conclusion was inferred from the responses of the overall collegiate population, claiming
a downtrend from SY 2009-2010 to SY 2011-2012, but with a slight surge the succeeding
academic year.

Another study looked closer at the student retention rates, and found that “faculty resources and
student services, may be considered singly as significant determinants of student retention”
(Segismundo, 2016). As the study utilized a correlational research design, the study found a
significant combined effect on students’ overall experiences to student retention. The study of
Zerna, et. al. (2014) also came up with the same conclusion.

Both of these studies posit that La Consolacion University Philippines would benefit with better
retention and enrollment rates with the help of concerted efforts from different administrative
units within the University (Zerna, et.al., 2014).

For the cases of this study, the Barasoain Center for Innovative Education (BarCIE) Night
College will be investigated, particularly their Night College department. The Night College is
an alternative learning mode of higher education learning where students, particularly adult
learners, enroll courses towards finishing a degree within a modular approach.

Objectives of the Study

This study aims to look at the trends of student enrollment in the LCUP BarCIE Night College,
as well as the student experiences of the current students of the BarCIE Night College. In
particular, it aims to answer the following questions:

 What are the backgrounds of students currently enrolled in the BarCIE Night College?
 What is the trend of enrollment in the BarCIE Night College?
 What is the overall rating of BarCIE Night College students on their student experience
in LCUP?

The study is hoped to contribute to the growing literature regarding student attrition and
retention. While it may still be open to further improvements exploring more variables in depth,
the field of student retention has not yet been explored well in the case of Alternative Learning
Systems. As such, this study presents a preliminary contribution to the field.

II. Method

The study is a descriptive study of the trends in student enrollment and student experiences in the
BarCIE-Night College of La Consolacion University Philippines. The research design would
involve a survey of student experiences as well as documentary analysis of relevant demographic
information from Night College students.

The instrument that will be used will be the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CESQ,
1994), an instrument also used by the University of Indiana. However, only segments of the
instrument are used and have been administered with the student-respondents, considering the
time aspect of this study. Mean values and percentages will be used to interpret the tallied results
and to draw conclusions forth from. Additional information for profile was also gathered from
relevant offices, i.e., Night College office and Admissions Office to gather demographic
information for the respondents. The instrument was administered within 31 respondents from
the Night College who were present by the time the survey was to be administered.

III. Results

In discussing the results of this study, this part would respond to the study’s different research
questions, to wit:

 What are the backgrounds of students currently enrolled in the BarCIE Night College?
 What is the trend of enrollment in the BarCIE Night College?
 What is the overall rating of BarCIE Night College students on their student experience
in LCUP?

What are the backgrounds of students currently enrolled in the BarCIE Night College?

The results of this part includes the demographic information as provided by the Night College
Office and Admissions Office of La Consolacion University Philippines, as well as some items
from the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (1994) used in this study.

The first chart below illustrates the students’ profile by their gender. It clearly illustrates that
female students consistently dominate the number of students in the Night College.

Figure 1. BarCIE-Night College Students by Gender

180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017

Male Female
Table 1. Age Range of BarCIE-Night College Students

Highest Lowest
2014-2015 52 19
2015-2016 52 17
2016-2017 52 17

On the other hand, the first table above illustrates the range of students enrolled within the
department. For three years, the oldest student was within 52 years of age, while the youngest
student was 17-19 years old. This is natural for the department as their primary clientele are adult
learners going back to higher education schooling, or want to pursue a degree while being fully-
employed during the day.

Moreover, as the students were diversely employed in different fields, a separate study may well
determine their exact employment details. What this study has found, however, are the different
working hours the students have devoted to earning their pay, which consecutively they allot for
schooling. This is illustrated in the figure below. Note that the data for the following figures were
already derived from the study’s 31 respondents of the CESQ.

Figure 2: Number of Hours Allotted by BarCIE Night College Students for their Jobs per Week

None 1-10 hrs 11-20 hrs 21-30 hrs 31-40 hrs More than 40 hrs

Apparently, many Night College students are employed part time with only 1-10 hours per week
for work. Succeeding these numbers are those that are not gainfully employed. Full-time
employed students come in third with more than 40 hours per week worked. When asked if their
work affects their school work, the students came up with varied responses.
Figure 3: Perceived Effect of their Jobs in their School Work

None No Interference Some Interference A lot of interference

In answering the question, “If you have a job, how does it affect your school work?” the students
came up with varied responses. Out of 31 respondents, 8 answered, “I don’t have a job”, 11
answered for both “My job does not interfere with my school work” and “My job takes some
time from my school work” responses, and no one answered, “My job takes a lot of time from
my school work”.

What is the trend of enrollment in the BarCIE Night College?

Enrollment in the BarCIE-Night College is done by three trimesters within one academic year.
For the purposes of this study, only three academic years were selected (SY 2014-2015; SY
2015-2016; SY 2016-2017), with the other one only including the first trimester. Enrollment for
its different course offerings are as follows in the table below.

Table 2. Number of Students Enrolled in the Different Courses of BarCIE-Night College

SY 2016-
SY 2014-2015 SY 2015-2016
2017
3rd
1st Tri 2nd Tri 1st Tri 2nd Tri 3rd Tri 1st Tri
Tri
AB 0 3 0 1 1 1 1
BEED 24 17 18 12 13 12 11
BSAT 5 5 7 9 12 8 9
BSBA 82 22 77 74 76 84 93
BSCS 5 1 12 8 5 6 1
BSED 0 5 5 4 5 2 11
BSSW 21 20 18 21 24 15 17
Uniting 61 49 22 0 16 42 67
BSENT 0 0 0 1 1 1 0
BSIT 0 0 0 1 1 7 13
Misc 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
TOTAL 198 122 159 131 154 178 225

The BarCIE-Night College has 9 primary offerings: Bachelor of Arts (AB) major in
Communication; Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEED); Bachelor of Science in Accounting
Technology (BSAT); Bachelor of Business Administration (BSBA); Bachelor of Science in
Computer Science (BSCS); Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSED); Bachelor of Science in
Social Work (BSSW); Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship (BSENT), and Bachelor of
Science in Information Technology (BSIT).

Their BSBA program is their most viable program among the 9 programs, with 93 students by
the 1st trimester of SY 2016-2017. On the other hand, the least availed program is their Bachelor
of Arts program, with only 1 enrollee for the same time period. The Uniting program is a
Teacher Education certification program, involving the study of 18 units as prerequisite
academic credits before taking the Licensure Examination for Teachers. It is their most availed
certification program in the department, with 67 students by the same time period. The BSENT
and BSIT programs were only offered by SY 2015-2016, and the BSIT program had seen
growth, peaking to 13 students by the same time period. One student in the 1stTrisemester of AY
2015-2016 took an Accounting units program, which is listed under Miscellaneous in the table
above.

In terms of its total student population, the Night College had seen a downtrend in SY 2014-
2015, but had since shown to steadily gain until it peaks to 225 students also within the same
time period. This trend is illustrated in the figure below.

Figure 4. Total Number of Enrolled Students in the BarCIE-Night College

250

200

150

100

50

0
2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017
It is advised that this uptrend be studied further and in-depth so that lessons from its marketing
and promotions activities at this time can be intensified and maintained to ensure the steady
increase of enrollees in the Night College.

From among the number of students enrolled in the Night College, only a small number from
them are graduating students, as illustrated in the table below.

Table 3. Number of Graduates from the BarCIE Night College per Course

14-15 15-16
AB 2 1
BEED 3 5
BSAT 2 0
BSBA FM 17 6
BSBA HRDM 11 13
BSCS 4 6
BSED 1 0
BSSW 8 10
TOTAL 48 41

The BSBA programs have the most number of graduates, divided into the two major fields of
specialization the students can choose: Financial Management (FM) and Human Resource
Development and Management (HRDM). However, the number of total graduates decreased by
8 for the succeeding year.

Data from the Admissions Office indicate that enrollment figures for SY 2015-2016 amount to
71 enrollees, discounting the Teacher Education certification course enrollees. If the freshman
numbers average to 71 and the graduating class falls to 41, it is evident of a significant amount of
student attrition within the Night College. Further studies can be made to explore this
phenomenon deeper into the Alternative Learning System classes, specifically in adult learning
studies.
What is the overall rating of BarCIE Night College students on their student experience in
LCUP?

From a sample of 31 respondents, the students of the BarCIE Night College were asked to
respond to several questions from selected segments of the CESQ, particularly the responses in
the “Opinions about your College or University” segment. The figure below looks at their
responses regarding the latter segment.

Figure 5. Responses to the item, “How well do you like college?”

20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
I am enthusiastic I like it. I am more or less I don't like it.
about it. neutral about it.

Out of 31 respondents, the majority consensus seemed to be, “I like it”, with 18 responses. Half
of this number went to the response, “I am enthusiastic about it”. Only 3 respondents felt “more
or less neutral about it”, while none expressed discontent. The respondents also looked optimistic
for the results of the succeeding question, “If you could start over again, would you go to the
same institution you are now attending?” The figure below illustrates their responses.

Figure 6. Responses to the item, “If you could start over again, would you go to the same
institution you are now attending?”

18

16

14

12

10

0
Yes, definitely Probably Yes Probably No No, definitely
Seventeen of the respondents were positive about starting over again in LCUP for their studies,
and also backed by 12 more respondents who still had their doubts but nevertheless positive
about the prospect of returning to LCUP. Two respondents expressed discontent.

The overall responses of the students as per these two questions, are overwhelmingly positive
towards LCUP. As such, it can be inferred that the holding power of LCUP is strong on the
Night College. However, this runs opposite the evidence earlier that there is a significant amount
of student attrition present in the Night College. Future studies can explore and investigate this
phenomenon.

IV. Discussion

Based on the results being gathered from the respondents, the study has been able to analyze the
trends in the enrolment in alternative learning system in the Night College of La Consolacion
Univerisity Philippines.

While it has been found that there is a significant amount of attrition in the rates provided for by
the documents regarding enrollment in the Night College, the outloook and experiences of
students in the Night College were found to be optimistic. This is a potent area for further
research and discussions regarding student retention and attrition.

Based from the findings of the study, it can be concluded that the students of the Night College
department are adult learners primarily coming from areas in Bulacan, and most of them are
female students. Most of them are daytime workers, and they see that their work has little effect
on their school work. Another findings revealed that the enrollment of the Night College has
seen a steady uptrend since it went down in SY 2014-2015 as the data shows. However, there is a
significant amount of student attrition based from the values of an average first-year enrollment
and an average graduating class. Results have shown that the students from the Night College,
based on the sample of respondents, “liked” their stay in the Night College, were “enthusiastic”,
and were willing to start again within the institution. This is an optimistic view for both the
students and institution as it affirms LCUP’s “holding power” on the Night College department.

The study recommended to examine the factors that may influence the students in choosing a
specific time schedule in studying. Also, the same topic can be applied but in a different scope
and focus to examine if the same result may appear. It can also be a way to provide further
research studies about the ability of alternative learning system in catering other learners by
means of extension services while determining its effectiveness as a tool for learning.
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