The Effects of Student Interaction with Administration, Staff, Faculty, Students on the
Course and Program Completion of Distance Education Students
Lynne K. Fukuda, lfukuda@hawaii.edu
Instructor of Anthropology,
Central Texas College
Abstract
A literature review was conducted on the topic of the effects of student interaction with administration,
staff, faculty, and students on the course and program completion of distance education students. The
review discussed the following: effects of academic advising and other academic services on distance
education students, the effects of student services on distance education students, the effects of
relationships of staff and faculty with distance education students on course and program completion, the
effects of peer to peer interaction on distance education students, the needs of distance education students
in contrast to on-campus students in regards to academic and student services, the factors affecting course
and program completion for distance education students, and lastly, the effects of academic and student
services on the persistence, retention, and dropout of distance education students.
According to Palloff and Pratt (1999), distance education students who take courses or degree
programs from a distance (Web-based, interactive television, cable television, video-conferencing, and
electronic mail correspondence) on off-campus programs faced challenges in learning such as: isolation,
frustration, technical problem with the computer system, and many others. These problems are further
enhanced due to the nature of their courses or programs. Distance education and distance learning will be
used interchangeably in this paper as well as distance education (DE) students and distance-learning (DL)
students. Students will be frequently mentioned as learners. Distance learning students, not having a
central campus where a student physically visits and forms relationships, can possibly create conditions that
can determine whether he or she will complete a course or program, or drop out of such a course or
program.
Howell, et al. (2004), mentions that “completion appears to be linked to faculty and staff
interaction with students, institutions cannot increase their enrollments and expect to improve completion
without adequate faculty and staff support for students”. What are the factors that affect distance education
student course or program completion that is related to student interaction with administration, staff,
faculty, and peers of online courses and online programs?
This paper explored some of the studies that were conducted with regards to factors affecting
course or program completion by distance education students such as: relationships of distance education
(DE) students with faculty and staff of an institution (Conrad & Donaldson, 2004; Cook, 2002; Fukuda,
2001; Hassini, 2004; Howell, et al., 2004; Pascarelli & Terenzini, 2005; Thompson, 2001; type of academic
and student services offered to DE students (Gengsheng, 2003; Gordon, et al., 2000), and mentoring via the
World Wide Web (Aggarwal, 2005).
In addition, this paper discussed the uniqueness of distance education programs and courses and
the needs related to such programs and courses such as: mentoring by faculty (Aggarwal, 2005), learning
communities (Brescia & Miller, 2005; Corry & Chih-Hsiung Tu, Eds., 2005; Duffy & Kirkley, eds., 2004;
Huett, et al., 2004; Masters & Oberprieler, 2003), technical support for web-based courses and programs
(Moore & Anderson, eds., 2004), type of online course management system (Monolescu, et al., eds., 2004;
Stewart, et al., 2004), training or teaching methods of DE faculty (Liaw, et al., 2006; Mazzolini &
Maddison, 2005; Weiss, et al, eds., 2000), type of DE student who enroll (Aragon, 2000; Braxton, et al.,
eds., 2004; Crippen & Earl, 2005; Fukuda, 2001; Jarre, 2005; Kadison & Digeronimo, 2004; Kuh, et al,
eds., 2005; Lei & Zhao, 2005; Levy, 2006; Palloff & Pratt, 2003; Li & Kirkup; 2005; Pascarelli &
Terenzini, 2005), and DE learning environments (Hewitt & Brett, 2006; Kitsantas & Chow, 2005; Kreijns,
et al., 2005; Saito & Miwa, 2005).
Review of Literature
The majority of he studies cited were published between 2000 and 2006. Searches were
conducted on ERIC journals, PsychINFO databases, links from the Center for Distance Education Website,
university library files, and FindArticles.com using the search terms: online academic advising, online
student services, distance education students, distance learning programs, distance learning courses,
distance learning environments, distance learning (DL) student satisfaction, DL student completion, DL
student retention, DL student persistence, DL student academic success, DL teaching methods, DL learning
methods, DL learning communities, DL teaching training strategies, DL student support, web-based
support, gender and online learning, minority students and online learning, computer-mediated learning,
distributed learning, computer-mediated communication, adult learning, quality of DL programs, and
quality of DL courses.
Definitions
Distance learning (DL) or distance education (DE) pertains to learning and education delivered at
a distance, ranging from mail correspondence, electronic mail correspondence, video-teleconferencing,
interactive television, cable television courses, web-based courses and programs, and students learning at a
remote site off-campus on a physical site (Palloff & Pratt, 1999; 2001; 2003). For our purposes here, DL
and DE will pertain mostly to learning and education delivered via interactive television, videoteleconference, and the World Wide Web for web-based courses and programs.
The definition of online pertains to the virtual environment created by the World Wide Web or the
Internet, and is available through dial-up or high-speed Internet through a telephone line, cable connection,
wireless connection, or through a network often found in the school or at the workplace. Online students
are those who are present in the online environment and online faculty and staff do most of their work
online, although many main campuses have online faculty and staff based physically on campus.
Web-based courses or programs are mainly available through the Internet, often using course
management tools such as Blackboard, WebCT, eWebClassroom, CyberClass, or Education to Go. Online
or web-based academic and student services are available mainly online where students access the services
via electronic mail, instant messaging, or by contact information that includes phone numbers.
Online learning environments included chatrooms reserved for online courses, posted discussions
and messages on a website, exchange of communication via electronic mail, and learning communities that
are formed online by groups, courses, or loosely formed communities of students sharing similar learning
goals.
The terms student services or student support services will be used interchangeably and are
defined as a variety of nonacademic interactions that the student has with a college or university (Dirr,
1999). Student support services include preenrollment services (recruiting, promotion, and orientation),
admissions and registration, academic advising, financial planning and management, library and bookstore
services, academic and career counseling, social support services, degree and transcript auditing, and
technical support (Floyd & Casel-Powell, 2004).
Academic success, retention, and persistence (Braxton, et al., 2004; Kuh, 2005; Tinto, 1993), all
pertain to the result of students remaining in a course or program in college or at the university. Course
completion is also similar, with the result of having a student finish a course instead of the alternative of
dropping-out (Tinto, 1993) and not finishing a course.
Factors affecting course and program completion
Literature suggests that academic services and student services of particular online programs and
institutions affect course and program completion by distance learning (DL) students. Kilgore and Rice
(2003) suggest that adult students, who comprise the majority of DL students, benefit from support and
discussion groups that can be formed at the beginning of the student’s career, when he or she is first
enrolled at the institution and attends an orientation session on campus.
Palloff and Pratt (2001) suggests that faculty should receive support and be trained to service their
online students in these ways:
1. Hold face-to-face orientation
2. Provide an orientation to the course
3. Provide students with a list of frequently asked questions and answers
4. Place basic information on how to navigate course site
5. Send an e-mail message with orientation information
In this way, instructors themselves can cooperate with academic service staff in orienting DL students so
that he or she is not lost in the confusion and decide to drop out of a program or from a course. Guiding
each student, an instructor with the help of staff and other faculty that offer advising, mentoring, technical
support, and other types of support, students can be seamlessly led to course and program completion.
Wlodkowski (1999) in Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn, mentions that the relationship of an
adult student when dealing with technology must be enhanced by letting the adult student know that others
(staff, faculty, and administration) care about him or her. He says, “The more we transmit instruction
technologically, the more adult learners need to know we care about them and reasonably understand them
as human beings. ….Of the skills necessary for empathy, listening is most important”. For some older
students who may not be skilled in using computers or surfing the Internet, the difficulty of using such
technology to learn and to receive assistance at a distance could affect completion of a course or program
that is delivered online.
Findings from studies
Howell, et al. (2004) mentions that “completion appears to be linked to faculty and staff
interactions with students”. They suggest that more faculty or fewer enrollments to keep class sizes small
would be a completion, and retention strategy also suggested by experts. They also mention that “small
classes make it easier to build community, which is significant”. Thus, with smaller classroom sizes and
increased interaction of students with their instructors as well as with staff might allow for students to feel
connected to the learning environment, therefore, become motivated to complete their courses and their
programs. Each time a student interacts with faculty or staff, whether it be to have a question answered that
is related to the course, technical problems while online or with their computers, or wishes to have advice
on what courses to take, the distance education or distance learning (DL) student begins to be affected by
the interaction and assistant he or she obtains.
Hassini (2006) suggests that electronic mail (e-mail) use by instructors to communicate with
students increases student satisfaction with a course. He mentions that in his own classes, “almost every
student commended the email service in their comments provided in the course evaluation”. This also
suggests that email service can be used “as a supplement to teaching “ to increase student support. Another
suggestion was web-based mentoring systems (Aggarwal, 2005). This type of system provided online
students and corporate trainees with an efficient online support system.
In addition to this, the interaction with instructors and other students in the online course or
program may enhance student success in a course or a program. Hassini (2004) and Mazolini and
Maddison (2005) find that e-mail instruction and instructor participation in corresponding and guiding
online students positively affect student learning. The study done by Mazzolini and Maddison (2005)
portrayed an ideal instructor. This individual “when responding to students questions also ask follow up
questions, do not leave any unanswered questions without reply after a fortnight, and at the end of each
fortnight, gives his own opinions”. This ideal instructor shows the characteristics of being attentive,
individualizing attention, and interacting with the student with regularity. Castaneda (2004) and Moore &
Thompson (1997) both found that the relationship of student-course and student-instructor to be critical.
Feeling connected to the instructor enhanced the student’s learning experience and possibly to academic
success.
A study by Liaw, et al. (2006) also supports the idea that student interaction with instructors and
peers influence student academic success. They found that: most learners believe that interactions with
others is necessary, e-learning can facilitate interactions and collaborations in the learning process which
may finally increase effective learning performance, such as problem-solving and high order thinking.
Similar relationships that a distance-learning student creates with academic advisors can also
enhance student satisfaction. However, Gordon, et.al. (2000) suggest that the person-to-person relationship
is different via technology. They believe that the advisor-student interaction may not have the same sense
of contact and connectedness as an in-person meeting. And yet, they mention that they can build rapport
online even though students may relate better when they see a live person instead of a response on the
computer. Some advantages mentioned with online advising are the anonymity of technology that allows
students to express their thoughts, fears, and concerns. They also mention that the Internet allows students
an avenue for gathering information and for taking responsibility for their academic careers.
Thus, advising and mentoring by academic advisors can transform in a similar way as that of a
virtual or online instructor. They will become facilitators or guides instead of having the central and
dominant roles they had in the past. Students will instead, take the initiative to find information available
on the Internet and decide upon their academic goals just as online students take the initiative to study, do
their work, and participate online without the prodding from a traditional teacher. Online advisors can act a
coaches and not leaders.
The type of students who enroll as DL students can also affect the outcome of dropout and
persistence. Levy (2005) mentions that the impact of student satisfaction affects dropout rate from online
e-learning courses. Some suggestions were to decrease the sources of students’ frustrations and to build
mechanisms to help dropout rates from e-learning courses. Since factors such as gender, age, and number
of hours employed were possible influences in student satisfaction and dropout rates. However, the type of
student who receives services and their education online may also influence student satisfaction. Research
suggests that successful distance learners have a distinct profile. They possess self-discipline and selfconfidence and have the ability to work independently and overcome frustration and confusion (Seeman,
2001).
Students who may not fit this criteria of an idea distance learner may find themselves floundering
in an online course or in an online program. Hara, N. & Kling, R. (2000), in their article, Student distress
with a web-based distance education course, describes the frustrations online student encounter and factors
that may lead them to disenroll or to fail in a web-based distance education course.
Hodges (2005) suggests that self-regulation or being able to independently study and participate in
web-based courses determined student academic success. Azevedo and Cromley (2004) state:
evidence has been put forth that demonstrates a positive relationship between success in Webbased learning and learners’ ability to self-regulate. Learners who possess self-regulatory skills
succeed. When learners have not been successful, a lack of self-regulatory skills has been shown
or suspected. Design practices has
been suggested to support and foster learners’ self-regulatory skills.
Recently, research has shown that training in self-regulated learning
Strategies can help students succeed in hypermedia environments.
Both Hodges (2005) and Azevedo, et al. (2004) suggest that it is not set characteristics of a DL
student, but the skills that a student acquires in self-regulating ones studies and participation. As many
forms of distance-delivered courses and programs require independence, training in order to acquire selfregulatory skills and strategies to become more successful as an online student can future enhance the
academic success and therefore, course completion of a student. With the assistance of faculty and staff,
sometimes with the assistance of technicians who assist student who have problems with their computers
and Internet connections as well as with the skills required to overcome the barrier of using educational
technology to succeed academically, student can become self-regulatory.
There are other theorists who believe that motivation, more than prior skills, experience with
distance learning (DL), and educational backgrounds as being a strong factor in the academic success and
course or program completion for DL students. Bandura (1977); Hayes (2002); and Wlodkowski, (1999)
all suggest that motivation is the key in the academic success, persistence or retention, and course or
program completion of distance learning students. In spite of having skills, prior knowledge and experience
with computers and the Internet and with online learning, self-regulation, and other types of skills and
attribute, if a student lacks motivation to learn, to participate, and to complete a course or a program, he or
she simply may dropout.
Li and Kirkup (2005) compared two groups. They studied Chinese students and British students
on Internet use. This difference could also affect the academic success of DL students. In this study, Li and
Kirkup (2005) found that gender differences were higher in the British group, although between men and
women, men seemed to have higher Internet and computer use in both groups. However, the women of
both groups stated that they used the Internet more for studying as opposed to the men who used the
computer for recreational purposes, playing games on them as well as surfing the Web for pleasure.
However, another study by Hardy, et al. (1994) studied computer-mediated-conferencing (CMC)
where student communicated using computers and Internet connections. They found that when female and
male participants were compared, participation was relatively equal. It is possible that even with initial
discomfort in using a computer and communicating through the Internet, female students were able to
participate in their online classes as effectively as the male students. Although some studies indicate that
there may be a gender divide in the use of technology as in the study of Li and Kirkup (2005), actual use
for studying and communicating for educational purposes may not be hindered by gender.
Another possible benefit for female students, however, is in the formation of relationships. Hayes
and Flannery (2002) mention that female learners learn more effectively by forming relationships. If indeed
the typical distance learner is working and has a full life, he or she may not have the opportunity to meet
with staff, faculty, and peers of their institutions on campus or may never opt to visit the main campus.
Thus, having access to student support services online and being able to communicate with faculty and
peers via the Internet can further enhance the student satisfaction and possibly the academic success of
female students. If she decides to communicate with her instructor and peers regularly through e-mail, she
may be able to feel encouraged to continue her studies even though she may be having technological
difficulties or difficulties adjusting to learning at a distance.
Another study by Lei and Zhao (2005) looked at technology use and student achievement. This
study found that students can benefit from technology use, but the quality of the technology uses must be
satisfactory. If a student finds that using computers and access to the Internet is difficult or limited, he or
she is less likely to use computers and the Internet leading to the degradation of a student’s confidence in
using and interacting online.
In addition to student support services, learning environments, especially those that are web-based
could possibly affect student completion of courses and programs. However interesting or informative a
course may be, if those who manage the learning environment do not bring the right type of interaction, do
not support the DL student when he or she is learning, if learning communities or peers do not exist, and
course management tools are not adequate, a student may opt to dropout of a course or from a program.
Saito and Miwa (2005) found that reflection, activities, and support for learning in a course improved
learner outcomes.
Participation of a DL student, encouraged effectively by online discussions allowed for student
success. Masters and Oberprieler (2004) suggested these approaches: draw on methods, philosophy, and
content of main stream; ensure students to be IT literate; ask questions relevant to students’ course of study
and structure it to encourage free and open debate; and allow unhindered debate (Masters & Oberprieler,
2004).
Another type of learning environment that was important as well as an encouraging environment
with a mentoring instructor who responded well to his students was the effect of class size. Having smaller
class size, which allows for more individualized attention from instructors to online students is also
suggested as a factor affecting student satisfaction and therefore, student academic success. Hewitt and
Brett (2006) found that by analyzing average reading speeds of course materials and posted discussions in
asynchronous computer courses (those that do not meet online at the same time), revealed that students in
larger classes were more likely to scan lengthy notes. Also, social presence, which involves a fostering of
commitment to shared goals by students, were found to be greater in smaller classes. Class size was also
suggested to affect information overload, which can occur when there is too much information available to
students, creating student anxiety and amount of attention of students. Also, posted notes or discussions
were found to be shorter or smaller in larger classes than in smaller classes, possibly affected by the
students’ desire to avoid information overload.
Kreijns, et al. (2005) states, “Social interaction is considered to be the dominant factor affecting
collaboration in groups and thus learning performances in those groups. In addition, social interaction is
also a dominant factor in group forming and group dynamics”. He suggests that with group formation, or
the formation of learning groups or learning communities, students form social relationships, social
cohesiveness and a sense of community. This, he believes, allows for a social space for open
communication that is beneficial for collaborative activities and the exchange of essential information. In
this way, students form a favorable learning environment that would otherwise be absent due to students
who are not physically present in a classroom, but can have virtual presence in the virtual classroom with
opportunities to connect with other students, which Hayes (2002) mentions is how female students learn,
and allows students to study together, enhancing learning as a community where there is more interaction.
The learning environment of the Internet pertaining to connections such as bandwidth, the speed
with which online students can connect to staff, faculty, and peers also may play a factor in course
completion. A study by Wu and Turner (2006) indicated that: there was some evidence of a relationship
between level of bandwidth access and student interactions and behaviors and occurred more with learnerlearner interactions (where students interact with peers online during class) rather than learn-content
interaction (where the student interacts with materials found at a website). This relationship can further be
expanded to learner-instructor or learner-staff and learner-administrator interaction, where frustrations of
logging on, getting in touch with staff, faculty, and administration can possibly hinder students from
communicating with them and receiving the services or assistance they desire.
Sellami (2005) suggests that in less industrialized countries (mentioned by the author as
developing countries), DL students face difficulties due to difficulties in all aspects of DL. She mentions
students who lack skills or confidence to take DL courses, access to computers with Internet connections,
inadequate bandwidth, administrative difficulty, teacher difficulty, and administrative and technical
problems. All these factors can become large obstacles that might discourage even the most motivated of
students. The only alternative then, is to establish a connection with the DL student so that in spite of such
obstacles, the student will be able to continue in a course or a program.
Another study that looked at the distance learning support system developed for an institution
found these results: student participants in distance learning felt as if they were in the same building as the
teacher, and the students expressed the desire to take further distance learning classes, six times out of 15
times on average (Yoshino, et al., 2005). This system used Blackboard, a popular and common course
management system that is relatively easy to use and to manage.
Advantages of having electronic means to receive help (i.e.: electronic mail, website, instant
messaging) were seen in a study by Kisantas and Chow (2005). They found that college students (who
were not DL students) preferred to seek help from electronic means than by telephone or in-person.
Distance learning students also sought help by electronic means and preferred formal sources available
electronically.
Conclusions
Since online journals and literature are relatively new, the types of studies, resources, and
available literature may be shallow and limited. Comparisons between studies cannot always be made.
Because distance learning or distance education is worldwide, factors such as accessibility to computers
and the Internet, culture and educational background, education systems, administrative systems, course
makeup, course management tools used, DL pedagogy, type of course or program, and country of origin
will add more variables to the outcome of student completion of courses and programs.
Implications
More research is needed on the effects of academic and student services on DL student course or
program completion. Types of courses, programs, along with their support services, connectivity of
individual courses and programs and with the administrative control for regulating services to DL students
must be investigated. Every course, every program, every institution is different. Improvements,
adaptations, and innovations to serve students of every type, of every course and program to seamlessly
bring them to course or program completions are needed. Qualitative data is needed to survey and to
interview the DL students who are enrolled in various courses and programs to make these advances in
serving all students. At the present time, most studies have been conducted with focus on quantitative
analysis, that eliminates man of the various mentioned that affect student outcome.
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