Good online courses help students succeed. But what helps them?

Success

What helps students succeed seems obvious to everyone. So why don't all courses offer students the essentials they need to succeed?

It's because what seems essential to one is different to another. Pierre doesn't function like Elisabeth and doesn't evolve in the same environment. What is essential in one area is different in another. You don't study philosophy in the same way as computer science or law.

In short, we don't have a systematic formula for improving student success, however, based on certain observations, we know at the very least that certain conditions favor it, and good courses know how to put them in place.

In 2015, Eduventures carried out a survey (Online Student Survey 2015) of 28,000 students, mostly adults over the age of 25, who were pursuing higher education. They were asked to estimate their performance and associate factors that contributed to their good or bad results.

Students who do well online

• know what they want to achieve; they are clear about the objectives and expectations of the course;
• course technology is easy to use, not complicated;
• the pace of the course is appropriate.
  

These factors are by far the most important, ahead of interactions with other students or with the faculty. Teaching methods or tutoring, while not negligible, are not perceived as being as important.

In short, a course

• clearly states its objectives and focuses on them,
• uses proven, reliable and agreed-upon technology, and
• is structured to suit the availability of its clientele,
  

possesses basic qualities that will facilitate the success of those who do well.

If an LMS (learning management system) is antediluvian, you can bet that students will find it impractical, complicated, frustrating and demotivating. This will be one of the key areas for improvement.

Students who toil and struggle

• are obviously easily distracted by life, in contrast to those who are intensely pursuing a goal, but beyond this factor, it's the too-fast pace of the course that becomes the main obstacle: once dropped, there's no catching up;
• motivation, sensitivity to objectives, expectations of the course, are closely linked and follow in the factors of difficulty;
• in the absence of success, problems with technology come a long way behind, but are always present.

In short, you can't expect everything from a course. Its objectives must be clear and its pedagogy consistent with them, but other conditions are also necessary. Simple, effective technology, a flexible timetable, a study environment that's not too distracting, a discipline of study, references, tutoring that quickly detects students who are falling behind, are all factors that will promote success, even for the least successful.

Reference

Why Online Students Succeed, by Brian Fleming, Encoura
https://www.encoura.org/resources/wake-up-call/online-students-succeed/