College-wide data on passing grades vs. W/F's show that introductory online astronomy labs suffer higher W/F percentages than face-to-face astronomy labs and other science classes. Course assessment data reveal that those online lab students who persist to semester-end do as well as ftf lab students. Both types of students face the same non-science major learning challenges. But ol students struggle with personal technology and time/space isolation as shown by student availability data. For a viable, synchronous 4-member study group (a proven tool for success) to form, a pool size of >= 60 students is needed. Clearly, targeted timely intervention techniques are needed to promote student persistence, such as more detailed pre-registration advising, pooling parallel sections, and frequent, low stakes performance checks with instructor feedback.
