The Changing Importance of Factors Influencing Students’ Choice of Study Mode

Technologically-mediated communication: student expectations and experiences in a FOMO society

“…Some perceived certain personality types were better suited to DE, especially those with negative internal classroom experiences, yet the majority felt they had little choice other than online degrees due to life circumstances. This logistical aspect of mode choice has, understandably, been a consistent finding in the literature (Bailey et al, 2015). When logistics is not a determining factor, as was the case for most participants, then students' degree of subject-content interest may affect their satisfaction and expectations given several studies have found students prefer to study topics they find harder or interesting in face-to-face classrooms (Jaggers, 2014;Artino, 2010).…”

“…Likewise, clearer articulation of what tuition 'pays for' may prevent inaccurate perceptions, and hence customer dissatisfaction, that one learning mode receives 'more' for the money than another. Given the lack of transparency relevant to learning mode expectations, teaching methods, workloads, and assessments were identified as factors affecting enrolment decisions and changes at another large Australian University (Bailey et al, 2015). This study lends additional evidence that ambiguity and varied student/lecturer interpretation about what constitutes effective/sufficient 'online learning' contributes to student dissatisfaction and FOMO.…”

“…student attrition, 'flaming' , stress leave, etc.). With few expectations and little or no experience, it is unsurprising students felt ill-equipped in online interaction skills and findings contribute to research identifying improved access to learning support is a key factor in students' preference for face-to-face over online modes (Bailey, Ifenthaler, Gosper, Kretzschmar, & Ware, 2015;O'Neil & Sai, 2014). Complimenting Lee's (2010) crosscultural study of North American and Korean students, which found a positive relationship between perceived quality of online support and student satisfaction, students' perceptions and expectations about the quality, and quantity, of online learning support (from peers and lecturers) affected their overall satisfaction; no students who articulated they were dissatisfied with online learning experiences said expectations were met.…”

Applying Best Practice Online Learning, Teaching, and Support to Intensive Online Environments: An Integrative Review

“…Demographically, there are consistent differences between oncampus and online students (Bailey et al, 2014). For instance, more women than men appear to choose online modes of study (Price, 2006).…”

“…The nature of the online education environment also means that course delivery needs to compensate for the lack of immediate physical infrastructure, relying more heavily on asynchronous methods of communication. There is also emerging evidence that online student cohorts differ from on-campus cohorts with respect to factors such as age and work or family commitments (Bailey et al, 2014;Johnson, 2015), which also speaks to the demand for more flexible, career-driven online offerings. The requirements of online students as a distinct demographic are another factor for consideration when planning and developing an online course.…”