The onset of COVID-19 brought about a significant transformation in higher education (HE), expediting an ongoing evolution and compelling institutions and educators to cultivate the necessary skills for effective online delivery and resource provision. Insights from student experiences during the spring of 2020 indicated that institutions faced challenges in their transitions, revealing deficiencies in crucial aspects such as online instructor presence, social interaction among instructors and students, and instructor immediacy. This chapter suggests instructional practices and technology approaches within HE from a community of inquiry (CoI) perspective to enhance student engagement and instructor presence. The trajectory of HE is persistently shifting towards advanced technology, aiming to expand, streamline, and enhance student engagement and interaction, all while introducing innovative methods to enhance instructor presence. The authors urge HE institutions to adopt and refine various techniques to elevate the student experience.
TopStudents' Perceptions Of Online Learning
The post-Covid environment invited a moment of reflection on student opinions. In the aftermath of COVID, students expressed disappointment in their interactions with faculty and peers but maintained a positive outlook on their institutions' efforts to offer meaningful learning experiences (Patch, 2020). These sentiments continue to present an opportunity for HE educators and administrators to foster a more extensive community of care around students, assess the value of existing practices, and enhance online delivery methods. As the primary consumers of education, students play a pivotal role in transforming online education and interactions.
In 2020, a series of surveys illuminated students' perceptions of the quality of education during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Patch (2020), 65% of students believed their universities effectively managed the crisis, but only 15% found online classes as practical as in-person ones. In a survey of 955 college students, Pinkus (2020) found that one-third expressed concerns about losing contact with instructors, while 31% were apprehensive about isolation from peers. Interestingly, Pinkus (2020) found that despite the counterintuitive nature of instructors often being alone in virtual meeting spaces during virtual office hours, 87% of students perceived these sessions as beneficial. Additional insights revealed video/chat conferencing as the second most preferred communication method with instructors and peers, with email ranking first for instructors and texting ranking first for peers (Pinkus, 2020).
In April 2020, a concise survey reported that 75% of students felt they were not receiving a quality e-learning experience from their HE institutions (“75% of College Students Unhappy…,” 2020). A tophat.com survey of 3,000 students supported this sentiment, as 78% of the respondents rated the online class experience as unengaging, 75% expressed a desire for face-to-face interactions with peers and faculty, and 38% did not perceive value or enjoyment in synchronous online learning (Top Hat Staff, 2020).
McCleskey and Gruda (2020) surveyed 500 college students across diverse HE institutions. The results revealed that 45% of students felt they did not receive quality learning experiences from their respective universities or colleges. Additionally, the survey highlighted other concerns, with 59% of student respondents deeming online learning less effective than in-person learning, 17% expressing dissatisfaction with instructor preparation, 20% reported dissatisfaction with the quality of instruction, 26% noted dissatisfaction with the level of student engagement, and 22% indicated dissatisfaction with the overall learning experience in their recent courses (McCleskey & Gruda, 2020). These various surveys showed that students cared about instructor immediacy (ability to connect with students; Witt et al., 2004) and connections with their fellow students.
Online learning continued to expand post-COVID-19. In 2021, approximately 61% of undergraduate students enrolled in at least one online course, according to estimates (NCES, 2019). The World Economic Forum anticipates that global investment in online education will surpass $350 billion by 2025 (Li & Lalani, 2020).
Despite HE remaining a big business, educators and institutions focus on preserving a human touch in defining learner success. Their concerns revolve around course completion, degree attainment, degree costs, student debt, satisfaction, time required for degree completion, and ensuring equity (WGU, 2022). Post-graduation success may be defined by positive changes in salary, word-of-mouth referrals to the HE institution, or students returning for additional education at the same university (Kinzie & Kuh, 2017). However, these results directly result from an effective curriculum, supportive and timely instructor support, and the learner's persistence. While learning is fundamentally an internal process for the learner, HE faculty and administrators embrace the responsibility and the opportunity to create, enhance, implement, and consistently improve resources and approaches that influence the learning journey and, by extension, academic achievements.