I provide lots of information up front to mitigate attrition.  Sometimes student attrition is unavoidable and they will just leave a course...there is nothing we can do about it.  However, any opportunity to demystify a course up front will mitigate some attrition. 

What are some of your strategies to mitigate attrition? 

Are you compensated by the number of students in your course?

Active learning can work in any course with any content.  If there is a component that the students must practice in calculations then have them coloborate in small groups using email or the LMS message function.  Have them email you the collaboration of messages "trail" for assessment or accoutablility.  Make sure that the exercise is tied to the objective and or outcomes.  Does this sound like something that would be possible in your course?

Best,

Mike

I find the magic number to be no longer than three days (72 hours).  However. I strive for a 48 hour turn-around time.  This can be difficult when you have many students.  So, I think that it is critical that the assignment be appropriate for the size of class and support (or assesses) the learning objective/outcomes.

You say you are developing training.  Well I agree then, grading is not as important.  However, the training (not education) should be measured by a task, condition and standard.  If the standard is not met then retraining occurs.

This is a tough challenge.  However, the course should be tailored to the student and the time alotted.  I hope this is not the case of fitting a brick and mortar style course into distance learning.  Perhaps the best way to get after it is to add video presentation.  My organization uses storyline to present multiple concepts along with required reading.  Not sure if my answer helps, but perhaps provides additional insight.