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While online courses offer greater convenience and flexibility than in-person courses, students who take these courses may struggle to make the same quantity and quality of connections with fellow students and faculty members that students achieve when taking in-person courses. Research by Dr. Papia Bawa indicates that “online courses have a 10% to 20% higher failed retention rate than traditional classroom environments.” While many of the same pressures that led students to sign up for online courses — such as a busy schedule — contribute to lower retention, students’ sense of community does play a role in retention and can mitigate other factors. Researchers at American Intercontinental University found that utilizing an approach to increase online students’ sense of belonging significantly improved student retention and performance.
Here are some concrete ways that faculty and staff can improve students’ sense of community in online courses:
Orient Students
Students’ sense of community should begin before the first day of class. A general orientation (in-person, if possible) helps students identify community support systems, from student clubs to emergency financial assistance. Student leaders should play a strong role in the orientation; they can give advice on navigating online learning and share their experiences with different student activities. Students must be introduced to course and campus technologies, with an opportunity to practice logging into and navigating various systems on their own devices. Additionally, faculty members who are teaching introductory courses with a high percentage of first-semester students can include some content geared toward orienting students, such as time management tips, Zoom workshops on how to use course software, and reminders about ongoing student clubs and activities.
Be Present
The greatest contributor to a student’s sense of community is the instructor. In her book, “Connecting in the Online Classroom: Building Rapport Between Teachers and Students,” Dr. Rebecca A. Glazier emphasizes that “Teaching, and student retention, is best accomplished in online classrooms where faculty build rapport with their students and students feel genuinely cared about.” Instructors need to show up in the course shell, model engagement with the subject matter and with students, and communicate in a tone that shows commitment to supporting students. Instructors should be reachable in a variety of ways, such as webinars, a general discussion board/question board, messaging apps, email, and webcasted office hours. Making it clear to students what each form of communication is for, and what response time to expect, is crucial for setting clear boundaries and expectations.
Offer Mentorship
In colleges and departments where there are no formal mentorship programs, faculty can informally mentor students by including course components that ask students about their background, career aspirations, and academic interests. Using this information, faculty can recommend appropriate opportunities and professionalization strategies or connect students with faculty members, students, or colleagues that have experience in the students’ areas of interest. On a departmental level, once students declare a major, (assuming there are sufficient resources) having the program director assign a faculty and/or student mentor for each student can be extraordinarily helpful for their intellectual and professional development. Outlining how often students should meet with their mentors, and suggested topics for each meeting, can help set realistic expectations on both sides.
Design Your Course To Be Community-Oriented
Community can be built into online courses by giving students clear roles and expectations for how to communicate and build peer connections. Students can be assigned to lead discussions on certain weeks or to present course-relevant material that they found independently. Specific response guidelines and sample student responses can improve the quality of how students reply to one another on discussion boards. Community communication guidelines (netiquette) that prohibit discriminatory statements will make students with marginalized identities feel more confident and included within the course.
Make Room for Personalized Interactions and Small Talk
Online faculty need to resist the distancing and dehumanizing aspects of online education by working consciously to humanize themselves and to encourage connection, self-expression, and sharing among their students. This might mean asking students to include a picture of themselves in their introductory posts along with their favorite TV series. Dr. Glazier found that adding one “fun” question to her weekly quizzes helped her to check in with students. One of her questions was whether students always read her responses, which helped her realize that one third of students were not reading her feedback.
Provide Continuous Connection
Particularly in asynchronous courses, using chat tools such as Slack or Discord can help create a centralized conversation among students and faculty, which builds community and rapport. Often in online courses, even “hot” discussion board posts are quickly abandoned, whereas group chats can help faculty and students continue that conversation and discuss important concepts with more people present than would be possible on a single thread.
Reach Out When Students Disappear
Often, for one reason or another, online students will stop logging in and stop checking their college email. Faculty members might consider asking students to voluntarily send their personal emails and their cell phone numbers at the start of the semester, so that students who stop logging in can still be reached. Even without students’ personal contact info, faculty can set certain times during the semester to contact students who have fallen behind in order to express concern and a willingness to assist these students. Sometimes the bond that is created by showing concern for a student is enough to motivate that student to continue with the coursework despite many obstacles.
Consider Ongoing Activities
Virtual seminars, guest speakers, roundtables, group study sessions, or networking events can help to build a sense of community. Kelly Hermann, the vice president of accessibility, equity, and inclusion at the University of Phoenix, notes that “To further foster a connection outside of the classroom, we started a bi-monthly online gathering called Bravely Belong. These sessions are led by our student organizations team and provide students with an opportunity to connect with each other and alumni, learn more about specific topics, and have a safe space for ongoing discussion and dialogue about topics that are meaningful to them, especially as adult students.” Student feedback and leadership can help students have a meaningful impact on college policies. “We have developed a Student and Alumni Leadership Council to provide students with the opportunity to develop leadership skills as well as guide the student organization program of the University as we grow. Their input is integral to our efforts to ensure that the services and activities we provide meet their needs and enhance their learning experiences,” states Hermann.
Building community and belonging among students is vital because we are in the midst of an epidemic of loneliness. A 2023 Gallup poll found that 41% of female college students and 35% of male college students reported feeling “loneliness” during the “previous day.” Additionally, online students with disabilities experience more loneliness and have worse academic outcomes than students without disabilities. The importance of community, connection, and belonging is not just a student success issue; it is an issue of mental health and essential well-being. While students’ mental health is beyond the scope of faculty members’ responsibilities, it is still important to remember that a strong human connection is a great motivator in education, and even small course changes can have a big impact.
