Supporting Student Well-being in Virtual Learning 

My first and only fully online class taken as an undergraduate student was a complete disaster. Aside from a bare-bones syllabus, the professor never showed up. Most of our grade was supposed to come from a single class project, but no assignment instructions were ever posted. I emailed the professor and waited…and waited…and waited—silence. Eventually, the professor emailed the class to cancel the big project. But what about this assignment that was worth so much of our grade? He simply gave us all A’s. Although that might sound like a success story to many, this was troubling for me. The class was a required course in my field that I would go on to be responsible for teaching as a graduate student and, later, as a professor. (Kind of wild that I never actually received instruction in the course, myself.) 

This example, though hopefully not a common experience for others, is certainly not unique either. Faculty may be overloaded with other teaching, research, and service requirements. Maybe it’s easy to forget the asynchronous online course. Out of sight, out of mind! The problem, though, is that in this post-pandemic global world, more and more students are opting to go online—either for a single class to supplement their face-to-face instruction each semester or for their entire degree program as a busy adult with multiple competing life demands. This poses the question: How can we best serve our online students? 

Online student struggles 

When you think of “student support,” you probably think about an academic-based intervention; perhaps on-campus or Zoom-based tutoring, a writing center that can provide feedback and services related to class writing assignments, or services for students with accommodations. And while these are all important factors in impacting student success, there are also many psychological challenges students may face in their online education: 

Isolation. Those who participate in fully online courses, particularly asynchronous ones, may feel isolated from their instructor, their peers, and the university as a whole. 

Mental illness. Mental illness is on the rise for all age groups and genders; however, those of “traditional” college age may be at extra risk, as this is the timeframe when many mental illnesses first present. 

Competing demands. Those who opt to complete coursework entirely online often choose to do so due to competing life demands. These students may work full-time, have caregiving responsibilities, or any number of other life obligations. Time is a finite resource, so these competing demands can cause extra psychological stress. 

Poor sleep habits. College students are notorious for having poor sleep habits. Insomnia is a comorbidity for many mental disorders, including depression and anxiety.  

While some of these challenges may be felt broadly by college students across the board, others may be unique to the online student population. Universities need to think beyond simple academic interventions when planning support services for the online student population. 

Promoting student well-being and mental health in the digital classroom 

University-level interventions, like campus health services with counseling and psychiatric services, are certainly helpful. However, faculty have the unique advantage of being able to interact directly with students regularly. Because of this, faculty can impact and promote student mental health and general well-being. Here are some tips for where to begin: 

Use intentionality when creating content, learning activities, and assessments 

Instructors should mindfully consider the content they present to students, the learning activities students complete, and the assessments within the class. Does everything work together to achieve the stated learning objectives of the course? 

The organization TILT Higher Ed (Transparency in Learning & Teaching) provides examples and resources that faculty can adopt to show greater transparency in explaining to students the “why” behind course activities and assignments. When students know the purpose of the work they’re being asked to do, they have greater buy-in than if they see the assignment as mere “busy work.” TILT has cited several studies on its website that point to increased retention and completion rates for students as a result of increased transparency around academic work. 

Bridge achievement gaps with increased course structure 

An unfortunate truth is that achievement gaps in education start at an early age. For those entering college from low-income households, a historically underrepresented background, or as a first-generation college student, the statistical odds are stacked against you. But what can faculty do to try to remediate this long-standing problem? Research suggests that by increasing course structure in online and hybrid courses, achievement gaps can be reduced—or even eliminated! Maintaining a consistent and routine weekly schedule is key to increased structure. In my teaching practice, I order content in weekly modules that align directly with the course calendar provided in the syllabus. Each weekly module contains content, learning activities, and assessments so students always know what to expect. At the beginning of each week, students can expect a Monday email to orient them to the week ahead, and each Wednesday they can expect a mid-week check-in to make sure they’re on track. This is in addition to online announcements posted in the Learning Management System and individualized outreach for folks who miss an assignment.  

Inclusive and accessible course design 

Quality Matters, the gold standard for online education, emphasizes the importance of course design that encourages learner interaction and engagement, while providing adequate learner support and assurance that all materials are accessible. While these principles are important even in face-to-face courses, the stakes may be higher in fully online asynchronous courses, where the learner primarily interacts with course content and material virtually. If auditory or visual content does not contain appropriate captions or alt tags, students can miss out on important information vital to their education, which disadvantages certain students, leaving them behind their peers. 

Incentivize self-care 

As faculty, we can create assignments for our classes in a way that emphasizes the importance of mental wellness. In an undergraduate statistics class, I have an extra credit opportunity at the end of the semester attached to an assignment in which students have to identify what they have done recently to demonstrate self-care and discuss how they feel when engaging in the activity. Similarly, Dr. Sarah Kyte, a colleague at the University of Arizona, provides several options for students who need to make up an absence in her class by directing them toward existing resources. One such option is for students to complete a well-being module about stress and anxiety, or self-care and balance, and reflect on how they can apply what they’ve learned now and in the future. Regardless of the class topic or content, we can all build in little opportunities for students to practice self-care, and to help them feel valued and seen as a whole person, not just a number on the class roster. 

None of these strategies alone are Earth-shattering. Neither are they particularly difficult to implement. They only require incremental changes across time, and deliberate thought and consideration into assessing one’s course content, activities, and assignments, but the outcome they could potentially yield is huge. The result is students who are seen and valued as human, who know what they need to do to be successful in a class, and who know they can count on their professor to provide appropriate academic support when needed. These are students who will be more likely to persist in their academic program, graduate, and most importantly, learn to value and prioritize their own mental health and well-being beyond their academic journey. 

Just as many of the student struggles I identified are not unique to online students, neither are the strategies that can be used to promote student well-being. However, these strategies may be of particular importance in fully online course contexts where a student’s primary interaction with class, classmates, and the instructor is through a learning management system. In this environment, being intentional about structuring courses, and creating an inclusive and accessible environment, is critical to bridging achievement gaps and promoting mental health for all students. 

Ashley C. Jordan, PhD, is an associate professor of practice and director of online programs for the Psychology Department at The University of Arizona.  Her primary research interests revolve around the scholarship of teaching and learning in online contexts in higher education. Specifically, Jordan is interested in how pedagogical practices and technologies can be used and incorporated in an online environment to enhance student engagement with the instructor, with peers, and with course material. Her ultimate goal is to increase student success:  meaning better learning (evidenced through improved grades) and better retention (evidenced through graduation rates and time to degree). When she’s not teaching undergraduate courses, she enjoys exploring new hiking trails and spending time with her eleven-year-old twin daughters.