Supporting students in online and distance education is vital for their success. There is an evolution of support strategies from depersonalised into the more targeted and tailored to the needs of diverse student populations. This blogpost gives an overview of new developments and the areas of online student support that require attention when designing and developing online programmes.
Advising prior to enrolment
The lack of comprehensive information may lead students to misconceptions about requirements and a difficulty of the chosen online course (Clay et al., 2009). To address this issue, scholars advocate consultation with the advisor as a mandatory requirement for registration for the online course. Furthermore, an online learning readiness quiz or a survey for the prospective students can provide them with essential information needed for the decision-making process and decrease the mismatch in students’ expectations (Nichols, 2010).
Orientation programmes
Past research advocates a provision of “scaffolded entry into the online environment” (Stone, 2019). Orientation sessions and programmes are needed for clarification of students’ needs and expectations and can be used to gain data to inform the development of adequate support systems (Harris, Larrier, & Castano-Bishop, 2011). Research showed the effectiveness of mandatory orientation programmes prior to enrolment (Gaytan, 2015, Walters-Archie, 2018), and a provision of “online tester experiences” (Kear et al., 2016, p. 141). Being informed of programme requirements and time scheduling in advance was identified to enhance participation and allowed students to plan their learning better (Farrell et al., 2016).
Identification of “at- risk” students
Simpson (2008) argues that establishing a model of target provision of support to students at-risk in a situation of scarce resources has great potential. McKavanagh and Purnell (2007) identified distinctive features of “at risk” students, namely lack of motivation, unrealistic time management expectations regarding their studies, and hesitation to reach for help. Based on these characteristics and such criteria as sex, age, educational and professional experience (Gibbs, Regan & Simpson, 2006) and absence of online learning experience (Netanda, Mamabolo, & Themane, 2019), institutional data allows an automatic identification of students at a greater risk of dropout.
Proactive support and student outreach
There is a noticeable turn towards reactive rather than proactive support interventions (Thistoll & Yates, 2016; Sorensen & Donovan, 2017). Whitelock et al. (2016) summarised recent recommendations for proactive support developed by the UK OU. Core strategies for proactive tutor support include pacing students’ learning against milestones; monitoring students’ to identify those who are at risk of drop out; getting in touch with students prior to the submission of the first assignment in order to identify those who struggle academically or fallen behind. Among other reported proactive outreach strategies are motivational e-mails (Robb & Sutton, 2014), an individual offer to re-submit the assignment (Pinchbeck & Heaney, 2017), motivational calls and a proactive encouragement or an interest in the students’ activities from the tutor (Rendon, 1994). However, there is clearly a need to use technology more effectively to offer proactive support and outreach at a lower cost.
Mentoring and peer support
Peer support and mentoring are cost-effective strategies to improve students’ adaptation to the online environment and retention (Boyle et al., 2010), resulting in a better academic performance (Ashwin, 2003), the development of communication skills and a higher persistence (McLean, 2004). Through mentoring, students can receive not only academic but also “socio-emotional support” (Kumar & Coe, 2017, p. 15). The online world affords new tools for peer and group support that were not available to earlier generations of distance students. However, these domains still remain under utilised (Smailes & Gannon-Leary, 2011).
Support with the development of necessary skills
A successful learning at a distance requires students to possess specific skills, attributes and self-direction (Brindey, 2014). However, past research suggests that online students’ skills, experiences and opportunities for learning vary to a large degree. Among strategies that improve online students’ skills are time management and study management training for students with multiple priorities, an online study skills workshops that assist the development of skills for the self-directed learning (Grant, Olivier, Rawlings, & Ross, 2006), and a pre-class training on the Internet-based interactions (Kuo & Belland, 2016).
Development of a sense of community and meaningful relationships
In online student support literature, there is a noticeable emphasis on the development of meaningful relationships (Stone & O’Shea, 2019). It is argued that the absence of personal contact may result in the feeling of loneliness (Sorensen & Donovan, 2017) and create barriers for learning (Paechter, Maier & Macher, 2010) especially for the less proactive learners (Brown et al., 2015). Phirangee and Malec (2015), Yang, Baldwin, and Snelson (2017) and Hew (2015) emphasised that the availability of support networks help students to succeed in their online programmes. Furthermore, online course design that aims to establish online learning communities but also ensure that students’ individual goals can positively influence student retention (Fisher & Baird, 2005). Similarly, Kumar and Coe (2017) emphasised that cohort model of learning allows students to form meaningful interpersonal connections.
Emphasis on care
Academic caring is an important factor for online students’ success. Robb and Sutton (2014) found that the student perception of a “caring instructor” (p. 6) or “caring professor” (Tippens, 2012) can add personal touch to their learning. Chen and Jang (2010) advocate the development of an atmosphere that allows students to express their “feelings, thoughts, and concerns” (p. 750), rather than offering a depersonalised support. An example of such an atmosphere are Online caring groups and a Caring connections website designed to facilitate the development of a sense of community (Brown & Wilson, 2019).
Support in transition
Timely interventions, particularly at transition points, between different parts of study and during the induction period, make a positive difference in students learning progress (Baxter, 2012). If students are not supported at these stages, they may experience exclusion and fail to progress. Gibbs, Regan, and Simpson (2006) advocate focused support interventions in the periods of transition from one course to another to support students’ decision-making process.
Advising and counselling
Cain and Lockee (2002) identified that the availability of advising services influence online learners’ satisfaction and course retention. Although advising and counselling supports are easily accessible on campus, there is a need to provide equal access to online students via a variety of alternative technological means.
Consideration of external factors
Finally, students’ external commitments and additional workload needs to be recognised (Whitelock, Thorpe, & Galley, 2015). A proposed strategy for online students’ success is to offer catch up or review weeks, and a more flexible way to coursework delivery.