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Numerous approaches have been attempted to tackle the problem of student attrition in open and distance education. To increase the retention rate, many of these approaches concentrated on the problem and emphasised on rectifying factors that contribute to the attrition. Literature has sometimes overlooked the reasons that promote student retention. To gain insights from successful examples, this study compares the characteristics of a nursing course with a 91% completion rate and a mathematics course with 46%. It aims to identify factors and practices that improve the quality of an open and distance learning course, its students, and hence the completion rate. The two courses for comparison are similar in many aspects such as being 10‐credit foundation courses, having similar student support, and presenting under the same set of university policies; nevertheless, there are significant differences between them.