Article Gold Open Access 2024

Understanding the success factors of MOOCs’ retention intention: A Necessary Condition Analysis

PLOS ONE
Journal · Vol. 19 · Issue 11 November · Art. e0310006
Abstract

Purpose This paper seeks to explore the influence of success factors, specifically motivation and course quality, on MOOC retention intention. Going beyond a mere examination of these motivational and quality factors, the study investigates students’ motivation, considering needs, interests, course system, content, and service quality. Methodologically, a questionnaire survey was conducted, collecting data from 311 students enrolled in online courses. To ascertain the impact of interest or need-based motivation on students’ retention rates, a Structural Equation Model (SEM) was employed. Subsequently, Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) was utilized to identify the essential factors and components in each area. SEM results revealed a positive influence of motivational factors and quality issues on students’ behavior. Retention behavior was notably affected by academic and professional needs, along with personal interests. Furthermore, course content and service quality demonstrated a significant effect on students’ perseverance behavior. NCA results identified academic motivation and system quality as having a substantial impact on retention behavior, while personal motivation and technological motivation had a comparatively smaller effect. Practically, the findings suggest that course developers should consider students’ academic and personal requirements when designing online courses. Additionally, providing students with the ability to customize course and system content according to their needs is crucial. Timely problem-solving attitudes from service providers are essential for ensuring student retention. ©: © 2024 Huacui et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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Index Keywords

adult female human male psychology questionnaire Humans Surveys and Questionnaires Article young adult Students Problem solving student motivation controlled study attitude open access publishing behavior Intention student retention
Author Affiliations
School of Music, Shandong Women’s University, Jinan, Shandong, China
Department of Business and Technology Management, Islamic University of Technology, Gazipur, Bangladesh
School of Business, Shandong Jianzhu University, Jinan, Shandong, China
School of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China, School of Business Administration, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Funding & Acknowledgements
Shandong Provincial Education Science Plan
Grant: 2021YB027
This research was funded by the 2021 Shandong Provincial Education Science 14th Five-Year Plan Project (2021YB027).
Shandong Provincial Education Science Plan
This research was funded by the 2021 Shandong Provincial Education Science 14th Five-Year Plan Project (2021YB027).
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