Teaching at an online school is so different from classroom teaching that traditional training includes few of the skills necessary to be a successful online teacher. New teachers to an online environment face a steep learning curve in how they'll use the instructional technology, prioritize their time, and establish relationships with their students. The literature has advice for these teachers about effective online practices, but there has been little research to establish which strategies are most effective in motivating students. This pre-experimental study, conducted at an online 6th-12th grade hybrid school, investigated the practices used more often by the most effective teachers. Teacher effectiveness was measured by the number of assignments their students had not completed on time. Recognizing that the effectiveness of different practices will vary from student to student, the research analysis included two covariates, measured by surveys: the academic identity and motivational resilience of the students, and the students' self-reported preferences for motivational strategies. More effective teachers were found to make videos more frequently, both of the teacher for motivational purposes and recorded by the teacher to help students move through the curriculum. Quick grading turnaround and updating a blog were also more common with all effective teachers. Distinct differences between middle and high school students came out during data analysis, which then became a major point of study: according to the data, more effective middle school teachers emphasized individual contact with students, but the less effective high school teachers spent more time on individualized contact. The surveys used in this study could be modified and implemented at any online school to help teachers discover and then prioritize the most effective strategies for keeping students engaged.

The latest research shows over 2.8 million higher education students or one-in-seven are enrolled in fully online programs. In fields such as accounting, students are able to complete their degree, pass a standardized exam, and enter the workforce with little to no work experience. Accounting firm human resources managers are primarily responsible for the recruitment and selection of candidates. Prior studies conducted show that these hiring gatekeepers prefer candidates with earned degrees in a traditional classroom environment when holding constant for all other factors. While many students invest in online degrees as an ideal pathway to employment, career advancement, and increased earnings, the perception of their degree by hiring gatekeepers may limit these aspirations. Existing research is limited in descriptive analysis as to why these perceptions are held and what can be done to change them. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the perception of the online degree by accounting hiring gatekeepers of mid-size firms in the northwestern U.S. and their recommendations for changes to online programs. Findings support prior research with a disinclination by hiring gatekeepers for candidates with earned online degrees and identified several reasons including a diminished view of interpersonal skills, ability to work as part of a team, faculty interaction and professional mentorship, and negative institutional perceptions. Additionally, gatekeepers recommended changes to online programs that included a focus on technical skills, soft skills, required internships, increasing in-person or hybrid structures, and revising institutional marketing strategies.

Graduation rates in colleges and universities have not kept up with the increase in enrollment. Lack of mathematics competence is a factor that impairs students from completing higher education studies. This problem is even more pervasive in minority groups. The existing body of research on mathematics education have not favored emerging minority populations in terms of addressing their needs for academic program completion across mode of instruction. The study analyzed the relationship between type of instruction and the factors underlying students’ attitudes toward mathematics. Further, this study examined the effect of factors underlying the constructs of teacher’s effect and self-efficacy as well as gender and mode of instruction on factors underlying attitudes of students to learn mathematics. Data were collected from a sample of 390 students enrolled in College Algebra delivered in face-to-face and hybrid learning at a minority-serving college, using three well established instruments. A one-way MANOVA and Path Analyses were used to analyze the data. There were significant differences in the level of importance students attributed to learning mathematics for their life in terms of mode of instruction. Those students who learned mathematics in the hybrid setting believed that learning and mastering mathematics would become an advantageous factor for their life. Beliefs of encouragement from the teacher and mathematics capability to solve procedural problems predicted judgments of satisfaction for being enrolled in College Algebra, as well as judgments of the importance students attributed to learning mathematics for their life. Mode of instruction was also a significant predictor of importance. Mathematics apprehension was significantly predicted by discouragement. Perceptions with respect to performing mathematics problems that required applying several procedures was significantly predicted by the combined effect of judgments of encouragement and discouragement from the teacher. Perceptions of being encouraged from the teacher predicted beliefs to perform critical thinking problems in mathematics.

Prior to 2000, there were less than 1.6 million students enrolled in at least one online course. By fall 2010, student enrollment in online distance education showed a phenomenal 283% increase to 6.1 million. Two years later, this number had grown to 7.1 million. In light of this significant growth and skepticism about quality, there have been calls for greater oversight of this format of educational delivery. Accrediting bodies tasked with this oversight have developed guidelines and standards for online education. There is a lack of empirical studies that examine the relationship between accrediting standards and student success. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the presence of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on College (SACSCOC) standards for online education in online courses, (a) student support services and (b) curriculum and instruction, and student success. An original 24-item survey with an overall reliability coefficient of .94 was administered to students (N=464) at Florida International University, enrolled in 24 university-wide undergraduate online courses during fall 2014, who rated the presence of these standards in their online courses. The general linear model was utilized to analyze the data. The results of the study indicated that the two standards, student support services and curriculum and instruction were both significantly and positively correlated with student success but with small R2 and strengths of association less than .35 and .20 respectively. Mixed results were produced from Chi-square tests for differences in student success between higher and lower rated online courses when controlling for various covariates such as discipline, gender, race/ethnicity, GPA, age, and number of online courses previously taken. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the curriculum and instruction standard was the only variable that accounted for a significant amount of unique variance in student success. Another regression test revealed that no significant interaction effect exists between the two SACSCOC standards and GPA in predicting student success. The results of this study are useful for administrators, faculty, and researchers who are interested in accreditation standards for online education and how these standards relate to student success.

This non-experimental, quantitative study was completed to determine if Tennessee high school students who take an online, asynchronous course better their digital literacy through the environment of online learning. The study focused on the pretest and posttest scores of Niswonger Online students during the spring and summer semesters of 2021. It grouped the high school students by location, high school size, grade level, and courses taken to assess differences in digital literacy. Finally, it evaluated overall student growth in digital literacy scores after completion of an online high school course. Data from a pretest and posttest of Niswonger Online students were used to assess growth in digital literacy scores after completing an online course. There were six Research Questions that guided this study with six significant findings: 1. Students who were excited about taking the online course had significantly higher levels of digital literacy on the pretest. 2. Students from small high schools (fewer than 1200) scored significantly lower on the pretest than students from larger high schools. 3. Students from rural high schools scored significantly lower on the pretest than students from urban or suburban high schools. 4. There was a significant difference in the means (lower) of Sophomore pretest scores in comparison to other grade levels. 5. There was a significant difference between the average growth scores of students in World Languages and Social Studies and World Languages and Career and Technical courses. 6. On average, students who completed the Niswonger Online course scored significantly higher on the posttest than on the pretest.