A high-impact practice for online students: the use of a first-semester seminar course to promote self-regulation, self-direction, online learning self-efficacy

Student enrollment continues to increase in online programs, but there is concern surrounding the reportedly high rates of attrition in online classes compared to face-to-face classes. Undergraduate students are poorly prepared and lack the human agency necessary for success in the online learning environment. To address the lack of persistence of undergraduate online students, universities must create and implement interventions that prepare students for the online learning environment and help them develop as autonomous learners. This study examined whether differences in self-regulation, self-direction, and online learning self-efficacy exist between students participating in an experimental high-impact First-Semester Seminar (FSS) class and a traditional FSS class while controlling for pre-existing factors. A quantitative, quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest research design was used for this study with nonequivalent control groups, and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and follow up analyses of covariances (ANCOVA) were used to analyze the data. MANCOVA results revealed a statistically significant difference between groups. Follow-up ANCOVAs revealed differences between the posttest scores of the traditional FSS class and the high-impact FSS class on the measurements for self-directed learning and self-regulated learning.