“We Overwhelm Them with Hope”: How Online Mentors Can Support Online Learners

This survey research study analyzed responses from 143 mentors from around the world participating in a global higher education initiative. Results confirmed the effectiveness of four mentoring domains identified in the literature, reporting the most success from providing emotional and psychological support for students. This article provides mentoring strategies including student goal setting, identifies characteristics of an online role model, and shows the importance of online mentors’ confidence in students gaining technology skills. The study has additionally contributed to the literature supporting (a) benefits of online mentoring for nontraditional students, (b) influence of technology on mentoring challenges, and (c) role assumption in online mentoring. Additionally, the study provided a literature review of the background of online mentoring and mentoring practices, the benefits and challenges of online mentoring, and lessons learned from research. This work presents a comprehensive understanding of online mentoring, providing support for mentors seeking to improve their performance as well as recommendations for creating mentoring programs to improve organizations.

Exploring Ethnic and Gender Equity Enrollment and Achievement Patterns in High School CTE Career Pathways in Mississippi

This study, a post hoc observational one, attempted to understand how to continue promoting equitable opportunities in career and technical education (CTE) for the state of Mississippi. We explored the enrollment patterns of Mississippi secondary CTE students by career cluster and career pathways associated with STEM careers over the last five years. Additionally, the enrollment patterns were compared to statewide enrollment patterns by gender and ethnicity. Also, we examined the proficiency results of students on the statewide CTE assessment by gender and ethnicity. Our secondary CTE student enrollment results are like previous reports of underrepresentation of nontraditional students in STEM-related career fields. Additionally, similar results were found when looking at the statewide CTE assessment data. However, there is an indication that CTE and non-CTE leaders effectively recruit underrepresented populations to STEM-related career pathways in the state of Mississippi, but more work is needed to allow access to all students.

Assessing the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Nontraditional Students’ Mental Health and Well-Being

The current study sought to measure how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health and well-being of college students, particularly nontraditional students. Participants ( n = 321) completed a series of surveys assessing their level of depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, insomnia, and well-being. Participants also indicated their nontraditional student characteristics, level of resilience, and additional life stressors due to the pandemic. Statistical analyses found that participants reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and insomnia, with corresponding lower levels of well-being across all students, compared with prepandemic levels. Results showed that while nontraditional students indicated an increased number of life stressors during the pandemic compared with their traditional peers, nontraditional students also demonstrated higher levels of resilience. Nontraditional students appear to be more successful at managing stressful life events due to the increased resilience that comes with age and experience, which can better prepare them to persevere and overcome challenges.

Piloting Learning Analytics in a Multidisciplinary Online Program

Learning analytics is a recent innovation that holds promise for improving retention in fully online programs. However, only a few case studies exist to show models for and outcomes of the implementation of learning analytics systems. This paper reports on a learning analytics implementation in a fully online, multidisciplinary program designed for nontraditional students using a pilot planning group with stakeholders from various roles. The processes for selecting reports, creating communication structures, and evaluating outcomes are outlined. Overall, faculty and advisors were positive about the project and found the reports to be helpful. The results suggest that the actions most often triggered by learning analytics reports were emails to students. Evaluation results suggest that the implementation of the learning analytics program and the interventions enacted had a positive impact on student success, though we acknowledge that it is difficult to isolate the impact of the learning analytics tool itself. We also address several challenges that came along with the implementation of learning analytics including understanding the efficacy of interventions, data security, and ethics.

The Syllabus Reconstructed: An Analysis of Traditional and Visual Syllabi for Information Retention and Inclusiveness

The current research examines whether a visual syllabus aids in information retention compared to a traditional text-based syllabus. The data derive from two lower-division sociology classes, each having a different syllabus format. Utilizing a syllabus quiz during the first week of the class provides the data about whether syllabus format matters. The data suggest the visual syllabus class retained more information given that students exposed to the visual approach scored significantly higher on a quiz than the traditional syllabus class. The current research presents an overview of why visuals may help in information retention with emphasis on the importance of inclusive course material and nontraditional students; an explanation of the data, methods, and analytic procedure followed by the findings; as well as a critical evaluation of and points to consider when creating a visual syllabus.