Enrollment, Retention, and Activity in an Online Master Gardener Course

An online version of the OSU Master Gardener training course was launched in the fall of 2006. Student retention in the online course was comparable to retention in on-site trainings. Students who were most active in the course, measured as the number of optional assignments and quizzes completed, were more likely to score higher on the final exam. Online courses have the capacity to broaden the reach of Extension and to allow individuals who traditionally could not take advantage of programs to become a part of the Extension community