Community or Efficiency? The Perceived Importance of Community of Inquiry in Online Community College Courses

ABSTRACT

Online courses are popular in community colleges among students of different backgrounds. However, compared to community college students who take face-to-face courses, those who take online courses earn lower grades and are less likely to receive a diploma or transfer to a four-year institution. Designing courses to facilitate social presence, as defined in the Community of Inquiry framework, can support student persistence and retention, but activities that support social presence may be in conflict with community college students’ expectations for efficiency in an online course. This study used an online survey to explore the value community college students placed on social presence, teaching presence and efficiency. Students reported that they valued efficiency most highly, followed by teaching presence. Social presence was the least valued of the three constructs. These findings have implications for how community college instructors design their online courses and how they communicate the relevance of course activities to students.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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