Addressing the Wellness Needs of Online Distance Learners

As more opportunities for enrolling in online courses and programs become available, ensuring the quality of such educational experiences will continue to increase in importance. One factor determining quality concerns the student support services available to distance learners. Unfortunately, these services are often underdeveloped or overlooked, especially those support services associated with the 'extracurricular needs' of distance learners. The inclusion of wellness resources within the instructional design of an online course is one approach attempting to meet the challenge of providing such services to learners. The purpose of this study was to determine which student support service resources should be included in an Online Wellness Resource Center (OWRC) available within an online course. A needs assessment was conducted to determine whether learners perceived a need for access to wellness resources. Finding that they did express this need, the assessment then identified the specific wellness resources to include in an OWRC.