Summary of Findings from an InsideTrack-UPCEA Survey

By Jim Fong and Dave Jarrat

According to the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, over a third of higher education students were enrolled in at least one online course during the 2017 fall semester. Since 2017, online program enrollments have continued to grow as overall higher education enrollment has declined.  Institutions across the country are rapidly expanding existing online offerings and launching new programs to meet the growing demand.  This trend may accelerate as colleges and universities adjust to student preferences in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and welcome more Gen Z high school graduates with a greater affinity for online learning.  

As online learning goes mainstream, institutional leaders are grappling with how best to evolve their student support functions to be more inclusive of online students. To provide effective support, they must first understand the needs and preferences of these students, and assess how aligned the current perceptions of student facing staff are with these realities. 

To provide new data and insights into how best to support online students, UPCEA’s Center for Research and Strategy partnered with InsideTrack to survey 5,771 students and 496 staff members from 25 public and private institutions to gather information about online students’ challenges and perceptions of the support services at their institutions, as well as staff member’s perceptions of the needs of their online learners.  

This data was collected from September to December of 2019 and reflects the views of students and staff involved in programs intentionally designed for online delivery, versus those forced to move online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As institutions look ahead to a future, where online learning becomes part of most students’ higher education experiences, it is more important than ever that institutions understand what factors contribute to student satisfaction and success in online programs. 

For more on the importance of making student support inclusive of online learners, see “Future Proof: Student Affairs for Modern Learners”, a white paper publication commissioned by InsideTrack, UPCEA, and NASPA.