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The Benefits of Online Coursework for Improving Transfer Student Outcomes
Jaime Smith
Department of Education, The University of North Georgia
EDD 7212 Dimensions of Transfer
Dr. Janet Marling
September 22, 2022
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The Benefits of Online Coursework for Improving Transfer Student Outcomes
Once considered experimental, online learning has grown quickly over the last decade as
technology advanced and internet access became ubiquitous. Even while overall university enrollments
were declining, online student registration increased, with nearly 32% of all students taking at least one
online course in 2016 (Seaman 2018). In 2015, community college administrators reported difficulty
keeping up with the demand from students, even as 92% of community colleges were offering some
number of online courses (Fox 2017).
Then COVID-19 lockdowns sent teachers and students home and accelerated the growth of
online learning exponentially. Even though many instructors and institutions were unprepared for this
sudden shift to remote learning, post-pandemic, 94% of students report a positive assessment of their
online learning experiences, and 83% say they would take online courses again (Capranos 2022). In fact,
76% of students have discovered that they now prefer fully online learning (Cengage 2022). While we
don’t yet know how many of these pandemic-driven online learners will continue to choose distance
education options, one thing is certain: online learning is here to stay.
Like community college, online coursework can contribute to the democratization of education
by providing increased access to classes for a greater variety of students. The aligned objectives of open
access make community college and online learning a natural pair, and indeed, community colleges
enroll a larger percentage of online learners than any other type of higher education institution (Shea et
al. 2019).
Benefits of Online Learning
Flexibility
Who are these online learners? According to research by Xu and Xu (2020) undergraduate
students choosing to take online classes are typically older (average age 28), and more likely to be
married and/or employed full-time. In addition, Glazier et al. (2020) found that “older female students
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disproportionately enroll in online courses” (p. 151). Understandably, this population values the
flexibility afforded by distance education.
The primary reason students report for choosing online classes is flexibility. The online
environment removes several barriers to traditional education paths (Fox 2017). There is no need to
spend time commuting to class or paying for gas and parking when participating in an online class.
Students can also avoid taking time off work or scheduling childcare when the online mode of delivery is
primarily asynchronous. Furthermore, the flexibility of online coursework allows students to find
balance between their various identities as parents, breadwinners, caregivers, and scholars. These are
the kinds of invisible barriers that typically exacerbate existing social inequities, but remote learning
could help to diminish or remove.
Safe Haven
Many students also find the degree of anonymity that online learning affords to be an additional
positive factor. In the online environment, ideas matter more than appearances. Students who may
have felt uncomfortable on-campus, or fear being stereotyped in one way or another, may feel a greater
sense of belonging and reduced stress online (Plinske 2018). As one student put it, online classes are
“intellectually pure spaces” where students can focus on learning rather than feeling self-conscious
about superficial qualities that might reveal students’ differences in age, race, gender, etc. (Fox 2017).
Monitoring
The data that come with technology-based learning allow teachers and staff to easily monitor
student progress and intervene early if a student appears to be struggling (Xu and Jaggars 2014).
Sophisticated software can employ algorithms to identify at-risk students by their online behaviors, but
even a rookie online instructor can see basic patterns in student access and completion at a glance.
What might take weeks to discover in a traditional college classroom can become apparent within days
online.
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Online Learning and Degree Attainment
Transfer Goals
In order to evaluate the success or failure of online learning for community college students and
potential transfers, we must first define success for these populations. Many studies of online class
outcomes define success with grades and GPA. For the most part, these studies illustrate the
detrimental effects of online learning and show that students taking online classes typically earn lower
grades than their on-ground counterparts. Alternatively, Krieg and Henson (2016) evaluated online class
results by reviewing the grades earned in follow-up classes for which the online class was a prerequisite.
They, too, found that online coursework results in lower grades and a reduced overall GPA, even in
subsequent face-to-face courses.
However, these studies generally do not account for the specific needs of community college
students who elect to take online courses. In many cases, if these students were unable to take courses
online, they may struggle to attend face-to-face meetings regularly, or be unable take the classes at all.
For aspiring transfer students, individual course grades may not be as important as course completion
and fulfilling the requirements for successful transfer to a 4-year university. Thus, for the purposes of
this paper, success will be defined as increased levels of degree attainment. After all, it is primarily the
degree, more than the GPA, that leads to improved career options, higher salaries, and social mobility.
The Tipping Point
It seems incongruous that a learning modality which results in lower grades and higher
withdrawal rates can simultaneously lead to improved odds of degree completion. Some researchers
have dubbed this discrepancy between short-term and long-term effects the “online paradox” (Sublett
2019). However, when researchers begin looking into individual student and class features that affect
success and begin to consider online learning as a continuum rather than a binary choice, patterns begin
to emerge.
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Shea and Bidjerano (2018) have been studying the outcomes of online learners in the SUNY
system for several years. They discovered that students who take a mix of both online and face-to-face
classes complete degrees at a rate that is approximately 1.5 times that of students taking only
traditional in-person classes. However, the odds of degree attainment are 2-3 times lower for students
who take all of their coursework online. Ultimately, Shea and Bidjerano estimated that 40% online was
the approximate upper limit for students to be able to enjoy increased odds of degree attainment. This
tipping point was highly variable when incorporating additional factors regarding previous student
achievement, racial inequities, and the overall graduation rates of the institution attended. Ortagus
(2022) arrived at a similar conclusion in his recent work specifically focusing on the outcomes of Black,
Hispanic, and low-income students. He found that students could potentially take as much as 50% of
their course load online before beginning to see negative effects on graduation rates.
Sublett (2019) takes statistics on degree attainment one step further to find the average time to
degree completion with a national study of community college students. He specifically measured the
outcomes of students who took at least one online course during their first year of enrollment. While he
found no significant difference in the time to transfer or AA completion, the results for bachelor’s
degree attainment are striking. On average, those students who began their college careers with at least
one online course completed their BA degrees approximately three months sooner than their traditional
counterparts taking only face-to-face classes. It appears that the addition of online coursework at the 2year college can have lasting effects that persist post-transfer.
Transactional Distance
What can explain theses drastic differences in student outcomes? It appears likely that the
flexibility afforded by online learning allows students to progress towards a degree in spite of challenges
they may face in their personal lives. That continued progress also serves to reduce costs, both in college
tuition and in the opportunity costs of losing valuable work hours to attend in-person classes. The skills
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and momentum gained online can be transferred to future on-ground classes as well. In fact, Glazier et
al. (2020) found that older women who take online courses also see improvement in their rate of
success in face-to-face classes and earn an overall higher GPA.
When students pass the tipping point and begin taking too many of their classes online,
however, it is possible that feelings of isolation, lack of social presence, and a reduced sense of
belonging begin to have detrimental effects on student achievement. As noted by Plinske (2018), strong
relationships with peers increase a student’s sense of belonging, which, in turn, leads to improved
academic achievement. When on-campus time is limited, so are the opportunities for engagement with
fellow students and the institution itself. Lane et al. (2015) used the University Attachment Scale to
attempt to measure students’ feelings of institutional attachment and belonging. They found that online
students had lower levels of attachment and belonging when compared to their traditional peers. These
findings may help to explain why outcomes suffer when online classes dominate the students’
schedules, causing students to remain physically distant from the institution.
To build community in online classes, instructors must intentionally create engaging activities
that invite interpersonal interaction while simultaneously maintaining a noticeable presence in the class.
Otherwise, students may experience what Moore (2012) refers to as increased “transactional distance.”
Moore suggests that “programs are not dichotomously either ‘distance’ or ‘not distance,’ but they have
‘more distance’ or ’less distance.’” By default, many online classes feature high levels of transactional
distance, signified by the abundance of asynchronous activities to be completed by the student working
alone. For instance, many new online instructors create virtual classes by simply videotaping their
lectures and placing them online without including options for interactive discussion or student-teacher
dialogue, which increases transactional distance and decreases student motivation (Xu and Xu 2020).
Given that most community college instructors are not experts in online pedagogy, it seems likely that
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high transactional distance may be contributing to students’ feelings of isolation if they are not also
regularly present on the physical campus to nurture those feelings of belonging and attachment.
Strategies for Improving the Odds
For community colleges seeking to improve transfer rates and degree completion, online
courses may be the answer. However, “increased access without academic success” is not enough
(Ortagus 2018). For the greatest chance of success, online students need structured supports that are
similar to those needed for aspiring transfer students. Implementing programs designed to scaffold
academic success for both populations, when combined with appropriate professional development for
faculty and staff, can improve outcomes across the board.
Self-Directed Learning Skills
Students and faculty alike underestimate the self-directed learning skills needed for online
course success (Xu and Xu 2020). Students would benefit from explicit instruction in study skills, time
management, organization, technology use, etc. Such scaffolding would help students become more
independent learners and achieve greater success in both online and in-person classes. Laanan (2010)
suggests that these meta-academic skills, along with the knowledge needed to navigate the transfer
process, can become “Transfer Student Capital” and equip students to succeed at the receiving
institution.
Carefully planned orientation programs for online learners can introduce many of the needed
skills, while simultaneously welcoming students to the campus and beginning the process of integrating
them into the school culture. If ongoing access to the orientation materials is provided online, the
orientation can also serve as a reference to provide “just-in-time” learning when the students need it
most (Robichaud 2016). Additionally, orientation programs can also incorporate welcoming messages
from faculty and administrators and offer institutionally branded “swag” to increase students’ feelings
of attachment and belonging (Lane 2015).
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Online Support Services
Online students need online support services. If all support services are on campus, online
students may not be able to access them. The same need for flexibility that causes some students to
seek online classes in the first place may also create a need for more flexible access to campus services,
such as remote access to library databases, evening hours for online counseling, virtual tutoring, and
extended tech support (Xu and Xu 2020). Some students have also indicated interest in having virtual
access to extracurricular activities, such as student clubs, career planning workshops, or school
newspapers as well (Lane et al. 2015). Providing such accessible auxiliary services and activities can lead
to a feeling of belonging and inclusion for students who might otherwise feel marginalized by their
minimal presence on campus.
Course Design
Another way to increase academic achievement and feelings of student belonging in online
classes is through intentional course design. Instructors often just transfer lectures to video, making
classes impersonal and increasing the transactional distance. Activities designed to increase
interpersonal interaction and build rapport between students and the instructor have a considerable
effect on course persistence and GPA (Glazier 2016). Instructors choosing to move their courses online
may need professional development and institutional support to create and facilitate classes that will
lead to the best possible student outcomes.
Not every faculty member needs to become a full-fledged instructional designer, though.
Understanding a few basic principles of online learning can go a long way toward improving course
quality and student success. For example, instructors who learn how to utilize basic elements of both
synchronous and asynchronous learning can maximize online social presence, lessen transactional
distance, and build a community of engaged learners (Martin et al. 2023). Strategies can be as simple as
sending regular email reminders or hosting weekly Zoom sessions.
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Transfer Preparation
Community college students who transfer to a 4-year university in the quest for a BA may also
find themselves with the opportunity to take online classes. However, learners who are both transfers
and primarily online students may be doubly at a disadvantage. The combination of being both a
transfer student and an online student can lead to 10% decrease in likelihood to succeed (Glazier et al.
2021). However, students who have previously succeeded in online classes at the community college
and therefore developed the self-directed learning skills needed for success will fare much better
(Nadasen and List 2016). Given the proliferation of online class availability across all 2- and 4-year
institutions nationwide, it may become increasingly important for community colleges to revise their
role in transfer student preparation to include instruction and support in online course success, not just
to increase odds of transferring, but to improve outcomes at the receiving institution as well.
Conclusion
While online education is not a panacea to cure all of the troubles facing aspiring transfer
students in America’s 2-year colleges, there is reason to believe that deliberate inclusion of online
coursework in a student’s overall academic plan can increase the odds of success. Studies have already
shown that while online classes may have short-term deficits, many students who pursue online learning
also have increased chances of earning their degrees in a timely manner. Now that COVID has put online
learning in the spotlight, we can hope to see increased emphasis on the creation of quality online
learning opportunities and community college support systems that negate some of the previously
observed detrimental effects.
The full effects of the sudden pivot to online learning during the early days of COVID-19 are not
yet known. However, the abundance of online learning data created by this shift provides many
opportunities for research. Did pandemic-driven online learners see the same benefits and drawbacks to
virtual education that surfaced in pre-COVID studies? Is there a difference in outcomes from virtual
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classes led by an experienced online instructor vs. those led by traditional teachers suddenly forced into
remote learning? There is still much work to be done in this area post-COVID. The current explosion of
distance learning popularity, when combined with the prospect of improved outcomes for transfer
students, make online learning a potential disruptor of the current higher education paradigm. A twopronged approach including data collection and research on one side, and increased supports for both
students and faculty on the other, could
access to education and increased odds of transfer success across the socioeconomic spectrum,
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