Online course delivery offers benefits to diverse populations of college students seeking to balance their studies with commitments such as jobs and family. For adult and rural learners in particular, online courses create opportunities for learning that may not otherwise be available. Faculty members who instruct online courses are responsible for creating a robust, engaging, and rigorous learning environment that leads students to meet their educational and professional goals. Developing an engaging social presence in the online classroom is a key part of developing classroom community. Enhancing one's social presence requires strategies that develop opportunities for student mastery and critical thinking, support students' development in the affective and conative domains, and encourage students to make high-quality contributions to online discussions. Strategies include community building, humanizing the course, faculty immediacy, structured discussion prompts, effective follow-up questions, facilitating collaboration, curriculum enhancements, and feedback and grading.

Higher education institutions have witnessed an increase in the share of adult and non-traditional learners that make up their student bodies. With this increase in the representation of adults and non-traditional learners on college campuses comes a need to understand the unique needs that adult and non-traditional college students have when motivating them for success and providing the right learning supports. This starts with promoting a sense of belonging, so students recognize they are a valued part of the student body. Educational programs should include attention to the affective and conative domains of learning, empowering students to take responsibility for their educational journeys, promoting a growth mindset, activating learners' intrinsic motivations, creating opportunities for self-directed learning, and designing courses with supportive structures and resources.