Navigating The Landscape Of Online Higher Education: Faculty Challenges, Opportunities, And Strategies For Student Engagement

<p>Faculty in higher education recognize the importance of enhancing student engagement in online courses (Hollister et al., 2022; Richards, 2023), yet challenges like lack of confidence, difficulty understanding students, and managing workload often hinder prioritization (Kellen & Kumar, 2021). This qualitative phenomenological study explored eight university instructors' and faculty members' perceptions of student engagement in online courses, examining strategies, challenges, and successes in fostering a sense of community through individual interviews. Findings revealed various strategies to enhance engagement, such as integrating multimedia for interactive discussions. Despite available resources like the CTEL department, participants identified ongoing challenges, particularly a gap in institutional support and faculty engagement. The participants in this study emphasized the importance of creating a community through group projects and small group activities. The results indicated that promoting engagement in online courses requires a comprehensive approach, involving strong administrative support, well-organized course management, ongoing professional development, and the use of effective engagement methods. One effective strategy for student engagement involved incorporating entertaining videos, like those produced by successful YouTube creators. Another approach included utilizing study buddies to foster engagement and accountability. When student engagement strategies are applied, there are positive student outcomes and higher retention rates. Future research could explore undergraduate students' perspectives on online courses and assess the impact of video-based responses compared to traditional written formats in fostering student engagement and retention.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Author dc:creator

• Kaszubinski, Nicole T, Ed.D.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Audrey Rabas
• Catherine Stieg

• student engagement
• online higher education
• sense of community
• undergraduate student retention
• Higher Education
• Online and Distance Education

Repository record dc:identifier

https://dune.une.edu/edu_diss/59

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dune.une.edu:edu_diss-1063