Online Student Struggles: Time Management

In all the studies about why students drop out, fail, or struggle with online classes, the main reason that stands out above all the rest is lack of time management skills. The "out of sight, out of mind" cliche certainly applies to a lot of students. In my experience, this is exacerbated by several factors, including age and school experience.

Younger students seem to have more difficulty than older students, most likely a result of not having to manage time throughout their high school years. In high school, students are pushed and pulled along by both teachers and parents. So they don't learn how to manage study time on their own. Certainly there are exceptions to this, fortunately quite a few. But the fact remains that new undergraduate college students cannot manage time, especially if they are taking one or more online classes.

Older students have experience managing time in a variety of areas of their lives, including work, family, recreational activities, and studying. Yet still, with all that going on, online classes seem to slip into the ether when schedules become jammed with other activities and obligations.

In my experience, students drop out and fail primarily when they reach the point in the class where they have missed so many assignments that the zeros have piled up enough to ensure a failing grade. Most college faculty permit late work up to a certain point. The problem for the student is that, at that point, they are trying to do work for last week at the same time they are trying to do the current week's work. All of a sudden, they are overwhelmed with double school work, on top of all their other work and family obligations and activities.

What can we do to help students manage time and get school work done on time?  There are lots of strategies but the solution ultimately rests with the students. We can offer time management consulting and assistance but if they don't take advantage of the help, and are not willing to do what it takes, then they are beyond lost.

Several years ago I created a series of time management worksheets for students to use in scheduling study and writing time, detailing tasks and mini-due dates, as well as specific study worksheets. These are all things students should be doing on their own, but most were not.

This was wildly successful for one very simple reason. I made the worksheets mandatory, for a grade, as homework assignments. In the process of completing the worksheets, students were reading, taking notes, drafting learning summaries, and getting their work done on time.

Unfortunately, in pre-designed courses, instructors can't add any assignments to the canned course. I wish I could because more students would experience success if they had those tools. Oh sure, I can give them the tools. But they won't use them if there's no grade attached to ensure completion of study tasks they should be doing on their own. Kinda sad, really, that students need that external push to do what they need to be doing to ensure success in online classes.