Following up on my article regarding Adult Online Learners, I asked Phil McNair, our Vice President for Academic Services to discuss some of our efforts for more interactivity among our students.  Phil’s guest article is printed below.

A concern of many students attending college online is that they are not having a “real” college experience: no football games, no dormitories, no cafeterias or gyms or face to face interaction with fellow students.  Perhaps the biggest difference between online and traditional education is the social component; the sense of community (or lack thereof) one develops over time while engaging in learning activities.  Academics is one component of a learning environment, but not  the only component.  Traditional schools spend a significant amount of resources on the non-academic aspects of their programs with corresponding impacts on their tuition and fees. The budget for facilities maintenance on most large college campuses approaches the annual budget of APUS.  While this reality means that online schools should be able to offer courses for lower tuition than land-based schools, it does not necessarily signify that the two types of learning environments are otherwise equal. 

In short, community matters.  Much research has been done to validate that students who feel a sense of connection, or community, with their school are less likely to drop out than those with weaker ties.  The renowned retention expert Vincent Tinto has published numerous articles that identify community, along with academic quality and support services, as one of the key factors in influencing student behavior.  Students stay where they feel they belong; without a sense of community they may not feel like they are part of something to which it is worth belonging.

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