11087

11087

General Session - Conference Presentation Only (no formal paper), Refereed Paper with Presentation

Applying Alumni Relations Practices to Enhance Student Engagement in the Online Environment
Jennifer Hurwitz, Kaplan University Scott AFB, Illinois, USA, JHurwitz@kaplan.edu

In an era of accountability, leaders and instructors in online learning must develop methods to maintain active student engagement in their course offerings (Dixon, 2010; Kennedy, 2000; Rabe-Hemp, Woollen, Humiston, 2009; Robinson & Hullinger, 2008). Methods used by alumni relations professionals focus on building relationships through frequent communication (Calvert, 2000; Brant, 2002; Regan, 2002). Online instructors could apply these relationship sustaining principles as they interact with their students. The purpose of this research was to explore how the contributing factors related to relationship building could assist online instructors as they seek innovative methods for increasing student engagement. Strategies for relationship building will be discussed.

All Audiences online student engagement relationships