Wallace Boston
Dr. Wallace E. Boston was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of American Public University System (APUS) and its parent company, American Public Education, Inc. (APEI) in July 2004. He joined APUS and APEI as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 2002. In September 2019, Angela Selden was named CEO of APEI, succeeding Dr. Boston who remained APUS president until his planned retirement in August 2020. In recognition of his substantial contributions to APUS, Dr. Boston was appointed APUS Board Member Emeritus and APUS President Emeritus effective with his retirement from each.Dr. Boston guided APUS through its successful initial accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association in 2006 and ten-year reaccreditation in 2011. In 2006, he led APUS to become a charter signatory to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, committing to carbon neutrality no later than 2050. In November 2007, he led APEI to an initial public offering on the NASDAQ Exchange. Beginning in 2010, APUS built three LEEDS certified buildings on its Charles Town, WV campus. In 2013, he led APEI through its acquisition of Hondros College of Nursing. APUS received its 5th Effective Practice Award from the Online Learning Consortium in 2017, a record unequaled by any college or university in America. In 2020, APUS launched the Freedom Grant, continuing its leadership in serving members of the U.S. Armed Services with grants for textbooks and affordable tuition leading many to graduate with no debt. During his tenure, APUS grew to over 80,000 students, 250 degree and certificate programs and approximately 110,000 alumni.In addition to his previous service as a board member of APUS and APEI, Dr. Boston is a board member of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI), a member of the Board of Advisors of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA), and a member of the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. He has served on many other boards during the past 35 years. Dr. Boston has authored and co-authored papers on the topic of online post-secondary student retention, and is a frequent speaker on the impact of technology on higher education.In his career prior to APEI and APUS, Dr. Boston served as either CFO, COO, or CEO of Meridian Healthcare, Manor Healthcare, Neighborcare Pharmacies, and Sun Healthcare Group. Dr. Boston is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, and Chartered Global Management Accountant. He earned an A.B. degree in History from Duke University, an MBA in Marketing and Accounting from Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business Administration, and a Doctorate in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education.
Supervisors: Robert M. Zemsky
Phone: 304-724-3700
Address: 111 West Congress Street
Charles Town, WV 25414
Supervisors: Robert M. Zemsky
Phone: 304-724-3700
Address: 111 West Congress Street
Charles Town, WV 25414
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Despite these well-known affordances, postsecondary institutions offering online courses are also fully aware of the challenges concomitant with this learning environment—most notably, student retention. Numerous studies have approached the retention, progression, and completion issue from a variety of angles attempting to predict, classify, identify, and increase opportunities for students to reach their personal academic goals. Rather than repositioning and assuming a new angle, the authors of this study chose to fuse these well established--yet isolated angles. Therefore, the purpose of this study was (1) to identify significant student demographic predictors among students who dis-enroll (“stoppers”), reenroll (“swirlers” and/or “shoppers”), and/or complete their online program of study (“succeeders”), and (2) to calculate the variance among the significant predictors.
Despite these well-known affordances, postsecondary institutions offering online courses are also fully aware of the challenges concomitant with this learning environment—most notably, student retention. Numerous studies have approached the retention, progression, and completion issue from a variety of angles attempting to predict, classify, identify, and increase opportunities for students to reach their personal academic goals. Rather than repositioning and assuming a new angle, the authors of this study chose to fuse these well established--yet isolated angles. Therefore, the purpose of this study was (1) to identify significant student demographic predictors among students who dis-enroll (“stoppers”), reenroll (“swirlers” and/or “shoppers”), and/or complete their online program of study (“succeeders”), and (2) to calculate the variance among the significant predictors.