Ready or Not? The Effectiveness of Online Support Modules for Graduate Students

With more students taking online courses in higher education due to efficiency, compared to that of traditional face-to-face courses, student retention is a critical concern in higher education as student retention has not kept up with the increase in enrollments (Bianchi-Laubsch, 2014; Burgess, 2017; Stover 2017). Many online students have obligations that present multiple challenges such that some students require additional course support to be successful. In fact, the lack of adequate student support is often reported as a reason for not completing online studies (Cherif, et al., 2013; Levitz, 2016). In an effort to support candidates enrolled in an online graduate program, a series of support modules were designed to assist struggling candidates and address academic gaps articulated by instructors. Our study explores the candidates’ and instructors’ perceptions of the effectiveness of these modules for supporting academic success