This research explored the experiences of student-athletes in online education. Interviews were conducted with scholarship student-athletes enrolled at a Bowl Championship Series level, Division I institution. Participants had completed at least one online course while actively participating in their sport. A conceptual framework was developed to describe the experiences of student-athletes in online education from course selection through completion, describing the nature of course work, perceived challenges and advantages, and the influence of athletics. The resulting themes included: flexibility, the student-athlete affect, use of technology, time management, and lack of interaction.
","abstract_html":"<p>This research explored the experiences of student-athletes in online education. Interviews were conducted with scholarship student-athletes enrolled at a Bowl Championship Series level, Division I institution. Participants had completed at least one online course while actively participating in their sport. A conceptual framework was developed to describe the experiences of student-athletes in online education from course selection through completion, describing the nature of course work, perceived challenges and advantages, and the influence of athletics. The resulting themes included: flexibility, the student-athlete affect, use of technology, time management, and lack of interaction. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Healy, Jonathan Patrick"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Doctor of Education (EdD)","degree_level":"Doctoral's","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership and Policy Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:19Z","subjects":["Athletic Academic Support","Athletics","Educational Technology","NCAA","Online Education","Student-Athlete","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2013 Jonathan Patrick Healy"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/176","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Healy, Jonathan Patrick"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership and Policy Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Athletic Academic Support","Athletics","Educational Technology","NCAA","Online Education","Student-Athlete","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2013 Jonathan Patrick Healy"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/176"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This research explored the experiences of student-athletes in online education. Interviews were conducted with scholarship student-athletes enrolled at a Bowl Championship Series level, Division I institution. Participants had completed at least one online course while actively participating in their sport. A conceptual framework was developed to describe the experiences of student-athletes in online education from course selection through completion, describing the nature of course work, perceived challenges and advantages, and the influence of athletics. The resulting themes included: flexibility, the student-athlete affect, use of technology, time management, and lack of interaction.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Backboards and Browsers: A Qualitative Examination of the Experiences of Division I Student-Athletes in Online Courses"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Healy, Jonathan Patrick"],"dc:description.abstract":["This research explored the experiences of student-athletes in online education. Interviews were conducted with scholarship student-athletes enrolled at a Bowl Championship Series level, Division I institution. Participants had completed at least one online course while actively participating in their sport. A conceptual framework was developed to describe the experiences of student-athletes in online education from course selection through completion, describing the nature of course work, perceived challenges and advantages, and the influence of athletics. The resulting themes included: flexibility, the student-athlete affect, use of technology, time management, and lack of interaction.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/176"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2013 Jonathan Patrick Healy"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Athletic Academic Support","Athletics","Educational Technology","NCAA","Online Education","Student-Athlete","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research"],"dc:title":["Backboards and Browsers: A Qualitative Examination of the Experiences of Division I Student-Athletes in Online Courses"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership and Policy Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:19Z"}