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.

Online Learning: Reading/Writing v. Listening/Talking

Too many students seem to think that online classes are easier than f2f classes. They buy into the convenience and don't seem to realize that without self-directed learning skills, they will fail or drop out of the online class.

Students don't need to be totally and completely self-directed; to expect this is to do a disservice to all students. They do, however, need to have the drive to succeed and the ability and willingness to ask for help in managing time, learning technology, and setting goals in the very different venue of online classes. With these characteristics, faculty can work with online students to ensure their success.

When students have to attend f2f classes, they have an automatic built-in monitor to oversee their time management. In online classes, while there are due dates certainly, there is no one to ensure that they attend class (submit work on time). Being late is easy in online classes because students do not have to look the professor in the face and say "I forgot my work" (for whatever reason).

The problem with getting work done on time in an online class is that it does take longer to prepare and submit work. In a f2f class, students talk to each other (hopefully) and talking/listening takes very little time. In fact, all communication and interaction occurs within a finite limit of time based on an on-campus class meeting schedule.

Online activities take longer because students are reading/writing and far too many students are not well-prepared for the level of reading and writing required to succeed in online classes. Thus, doing the work takes much longer than going to a f2f class. Unfortunately most online programs do not include orientation and success resources that prepare students for this level of reading and writing.

An easy solution is to provide reading comprehension, along with intensive college-level writing skills, instruction and practice PRIOR to students beginning their academic courses. Many schools provide such classes; however, these are either (1) not required or (2) taken in conjunction with academic courses. In both cases, students just blow off the orientation and success courses, figuring it's just a waste of time.

Since all effective online faculty know that orientation and success courses can mean the difference between passing and failing, as well as completing or dropping out of courses, why don't online program administrators realize this? Preparing students adequately for online classes increases retention and that is, after all, the bottom line for schools.

I get aggravated every time there is a new "study" out proposing some newfangled way to increase student success. Come on, folks, it's just not that difficult. All the studies in the world won't make a difference. To find out how to create successful students and increase retention in online programs, check out Online Teaching and Learning: Communities of Practice available on Amazon (please note that you do not have to have a Kindle – just download the Kindle app for android and iOS and PC).