Student Satisfaction with Online Learning in Higher Education in the United States

This study sought to understand factors influencing student satisfaction with online learning technologies in U.S. higher education institutions after the spring semester of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced all higher education to an online format. Understanding these factors can help universities acknowledge student preferences and improve their long-term success. Existing literature primarily focuses on the effectiveness of and student readiness for online learning, but few studies have addressed satisfaction. This study fills this gap by using data from the 2021 administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its Experiences in Online Learning module, filling gaps in the literature on student satisfaction with online learning technologies since 2020. The Technology Satisfaction Model (TSM) is used as a framework to analyze student satisfaction. The findings show that students' comfort level with online learning technologies and their perception of the sufficiency of those technologies to meet their academic needs play an important role in determining their satisfaction with their online learning experiences. Differences in comfort level, perception of sufficiency, and overall satisfaction levels also exist among various demographic groups such as gender, ethnicity, institutional governance, and institution size. These findings can be used to help institutions adjust how they present their online programs and associated services so that student satisfaction can be maximized. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]