Features of High-Quality Online Courses in Higher Education: A Scoping Review

Abstract

What are the features of high-quality online courses in higher education? In this scoping review, we explore peer-reviewed scholarship related to the features of online learning in postsecondary contexts. We searched ERIC (EBSCO), Education Research Complete, and SocINDEX with Fulltext to retrieve peer-reviewed literature from 2010-2022 pertaining to features of online learning in higher education. Two reviewers independently conducted the initial title and abstract screening (n = 1,574), full text review (n = 483), and data extraction of the included articles (n = 38). Using thematic content analysis to explore the data extracted from each article, we found that the literature predominately included scholarship related to quality online course design, instructor facilitation in online courses, quality assessment of online courses, and student engagement in online courses. The breadth of these themes included a multiplicity of strategies and approaches to consider when designing online learning experiences. We recommend that administrators, faculty members, and instructors responsible for designing online courses and programs for postsecondary contexts continue to incorporate these considerations to promote high-quality and consistent online offerings. We conclude the review by presenting four high-level considerations to guide these discussions.

OLJ March 2023 27(1)

“…To date, research about online learning in higher education has been predominantly focused on the systemic and structural components of online learning, such as evaluation frameworks for online learning (Hosiea et al, 2005), quality features of teaching and learning online (Keengwe & Kidd, 2010), virtual interactions between teachers and students (Wallace, 2003), and student engagement in online environments . Since the start of the pandemic, online learning scholarship has expanded to include topics related to UDL in online classrooms during COVID-19 (Dickinson & Gronseth, 2020;Havens, 2020;Ntombela, 2022), strategies and tools to ensure quality online learning during the pandemic (Chu et al, 2021;García-Morales et al, 2021), and faculty development and responses to the immediate transition to online learning Tucker & Quintero-Ares, 2021). These recent contributions have highlighted the relevance of student-centered online course design and created possibilities for merging structural and interpersonal elements in online learning moving forward.…”

Systematic Reviews of Research on Online Learning: An Introductory Look and Review

“…The first, by Doo et al (2023), explores general research trends during the pandemic. The second, by Wright et al (2023), investigates the components and factors that enhance online course quality and foster learner success.…”

“…The second article found in the systems level section, by Wright et al (2023), explores the components of high-quality online courses. And, as with the Doo et al (2023) article, an interesting historical overview is provided, offering a better grasp of the common frameworks which have been employed in the past to understand online course quality, such as Community of Inquiry (CoI), as well as more recent frameworks such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Quality Matters (QM).…”

“…This article demonstrates that the components of quality are wide ranging and include technology systems, platforms, and tools employed as well as the course designs and organizational structures, pedagogical strategies and refinements for an engaging online learning environment, and the methods of assessment employed. For those seeking an accessible overview of course quality components and considerations, Wright et al (2023) provide an excellent summary and insights about online course communication practices, discussion guidelines, appropriate feedback mechanisms, valuable organizational components, and a few assessment considerations for high-quality online courses.…”

“…What seems apparent is that enhanced course quality should provide some degree of flexibility in course design and delivery, more than one mode of communication between instructors and students, and multiple means of assessment. At the same time, Wright et al (2023) caution that there must also be some sense of balance in terms of instructor presence in the course to prevent instructor burnout. Wright and colleagues acknowledge that balance could come from relying on additional sources of course support and feedback such as teaching assistants, tutors, and artificial agents.…”