Date of Award:

5-2026

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

Applied Sciences, Technology, and Education

Committee Chair(s)

Rebecca G. Lawver

Committee

Rebecca G. Lawver

Committee

Tyson J. Sorensen

Committee

Lacee R. Boschetto

Committee

David C. Barney

Committee

Rose Judd-Murray

Abstract

Online education continues to expand worldwide across diverse contexts. Online students often differ from traditional in-person learners, as they are more likely to return to or begin education later in life while balancing career and family responsibilities. When online experiences are ineffective, students may withdraw from courses or stop progressing in their programs. As a result, there is a need to better understand how to improve the experiences in the online learning environment

Prior research has identified course structure, instructor presence, learner interaction, and student engagement as key factors influencing student satisfaction and perceived learning in online learning environments. However, these studies have been conducted in varied student populations and institutional contexts, resulting in inconsistent findings regarding the relationships among these variables and student outcomes. Grounded in established theories of online learning and student engagement, this study examines course structure and instructor presence as instructional design factors, learner interaction and student engagement as participation processes, and satisfaction and perceived learning as outcomes. The study examined whether student engagement helps explain how course design influences student outcomes, or whether learner interaction also plays a role alongside engagement.

Using a student survey, data were collected from students enrolled in BYU-Pathway Worldwide. Results indicated that instructor presence and course structure significantly predicted student satisfaction and perceived learning, with instructor presence emerging as the stronger predictor. Student engagement and learner interaction both helped explain these relationships, while demographic variables demonstrated minimal influence. These findings show that engagement operates alongside learner interaction in a global, faith-based online learning environment and offer implications for improving course design and teaching practices.

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