%0 Journal Article
%T Effect of Personalized Instructor¨CStudent E
%A Joe R. Putulowski
%A Robert G. Crosby
%J Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice
%@ 1541-4167
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1521025117696823
%X Social isolation among online college students may be a key contributor to the higher attrition rates reported by online universities relative to traditional institutions. This experiment investigated the effects of instructor¨Cstudent communication on online students¡¯ self-reported social integration with faculty, institutional commitment, and perceived course quality. Participants were 242 students (26% men, 74% women) age 18 to 60 years (M£¿=£¿30.00, SD£¿=£¿9.26) attending a midsized private Christian university in Southern California. Participants received varying frequencies (never, once, and weekly) and types (none, e-mail, and text) of personalized instructor¨Cstudent messages. Students who received weekly messages rated their courses more highly after 4 weeks, but this effect later disappeared. There was no effect on social integration with faculty or institutional commitment. Results provide some support for consistent instructor¨Cstudent communication but discourage a formulaic approach to combating student isolation and attrition
%K online education
%K student attrition
%K text messaging
%K social integration
%K institutional commitment
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1521025117696823