6. Discussion and conclusion
Overall, our findings indicate that while well-organized courses with well-specified learning objectives may be desirable, these qualities may not have an impact on student grades per se. In addition, while students appreciated courses that leveraged appropriate learning technologies (in contrast to courses that were extremely reading-heavy), that factor also did not necessarily impact student grades. Only the area of interpersonal interaction predicted student grades in the course. While it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions due to our small sample size, it seems that courses in which the instructor posted frequently, invited student questions through a variety of modalities, responded to student queries quickly, solicited and incorporated student feedback, and (perhaps most importantly) demonstrated a sense of “caring” created an online environment that encouraged students to commit themselves to the course and perform at a stronger academic level. This finding aligns with work by Young (2006), which suggests that students view an effective online instructor as one who is actively involved, provides feedback to students, adapts to students' needs, and encourages students to interact with their classmates, their instructor, and the course material. The importance of an engaged instructor also accords with Holmberg's (1995) belief that instructors must create a personal relationship with students in order to motivate them to succeed. Qualitative data imply that students in our sample valued studenteinstructor interaction more strongly than studentestudent interaction. In fact, many students viewed peer interactions in their online courses as an imposed requirement, rather than as a helpful and necessary component of learning. The general indifference to peer interaction among our sample of students could be due in part to their non-traditional characteristics. Most had professional or familial obligations that constrained their schedule and may have made it difficult for them to participate in collaborative tasks. This observation echoes some scholars' assertions that imposed peer interactions in distance courses may interfere with student autonomy in managing the time, place, and pace of their learning, and may not necessarily benefit students (e.g., May, 1993; Ragoonaden & Bordeleau, 2000).
