The purpose of this study was to investigate student satisfaction in hybrid education courses as compared to the traditional face-to-face courses. This was done by focusing on 2 main factors involved in student satisfaction: student-instructor connection and student-faculty connection. Other factors such as the students’ level of technical experience and influence of outside forces such as jobs and families were also studied. Students at one community college in Appalachia were involved in this study. Forty-four students participated in this student. They survey included a Likert-type scale and had additional questions on the student’s prior experience in online and hybrid education as well as two open-ended questions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of online learning. The survey contained 67 questions. Statistical analyses of the data revealed: (1) Students who felt more connected with their instructors were more likely to express satisfaction in their online or hybrid courses. (2) Students who felt more connected with other students were more likely to express satisfaction in their online or hybrid courses. (3) No significance in students’ opinions regarding having an in-person component in their hybrid courses. (4) Students who were more technologically experienced were more likely to express satisfaction with their online or hybrid courses. (5) A significant difference between the mean and students’ overall satisfaction with their hybrid courses showing that overall, students are not satisfied with their experiences. (6) A significant difference from the mean student instructor connectivity score showed that students do not feel connected with their instructors. (7) No significance between the mean and the student-student connectivity score. (8) A significant difference between the mean and the technology score showed that students were not experienced with the technology used in their hybrid courses. (9) A significant difference between the mean score and the students’ opinions of the course design showed that students do not feel that the course design helped them learn.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between general course satisfaction, learner-instructor interaction, and the learner-social media interaction scores of participants. This study used an online survey with 60 questions to gather the participants’ demographic data, learner-instructor interaction data, learner-social media interaction data, and general course satisfaction data. Data from the survey were examined through the use of independent sample ttests, one-way ANOVAs, and Pearson Correlations based on 10 participant demographic variables. Of the 10 demographic variables, age, GPA, athletic team participation, and work status were found to have a statically significant relationship with the three constructs. The findings indentified statistical significance between age, work status of participants, and the construct of learner-instructor interaction; between gender, athletic team participation, and the construct of social-media interaction; and between the age, GPA, work status, and the construct of general course satisfaction. Furthermore, learner-instructor interaction and learner-social media interaction had a statistically significant relationship with general course satisfaction. Overall, there was a strong positive correlation between both constructs of learner-instructor interaction and learner social media interaction with general course satisfaction.