Examining Students’ Confidence to Learn Online, Self-Regulation Skills and Perceptions of Satisfaction and Usefulness of Online Classes

As online class offerings continue to proliferate and more students take at least one online class in college, more research is needed to explore factors that impact students’ perceptions of their online classes. Past research has found a positive relationship between students’ computer self-efficacy and their satisfaction with online learning, but little research has explored how learning management system and online learning self-efficacy relate to perceptions of satisfaction and perceived usefulness of online classes. In addition to confidence, students must also implement and apply their learning skills in an online environment; thus self-regulation and time management as well as past online learning experience are additional factors that have been shown to be related to satisfaction with and usefulness of online learning. This study explores how students’ confidence regarding their ability to use online learning platforms, utilize self-regulation strategies, and their confidence in their ability to learn in online classes predict both their satisfaction with and perceived usefulness of online classes. Multiple regression analyses revealed that students’ confidence to learn online was the strongest positive predictor of satisfaction and usefulness of online classes. The results indicate that exploring students’ purpose and reasons for taking online classes, beyond a students’ skill set and learning strategies, are fruitful directions to pursue when assessing evaluations of online classes.