Investigating Student Satisfaction In Online Learning: The Role Of Student Interaction And Engagement In Distance Learning University

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze student satisfaction and engagement effect in online learning which are influenced by student interaction. We use the concept of interaction which is divided into three types of interactions, namely student interactions with other students, student interactions with tutors/teachers, and student interactions with content. We conducted this research in an open and distance learning university in Indonesia. To answer the research goals, we applied a quantitative research approach utilizing structural equation modelling to verify our proposed hypotheses. To gain the data, we exploit an online survey through a questionnaire and the data were being collected randomly. The population of this study was all students in Faculty of Economics who registered in online learning at the first semester of 2018 that reach as many as 124,041 students. We attached the questionnaires in all online classes and 4,305 of them were completed and could be used for statistical analysis. We proposed four hypotheses and based on the result of structural modelling, we verified that all the hypotheses were supported. The statistical analysis has found that interaction among students, interaction between students and teacher, and interaction between students and content have positive impact on student engagement. The results also showed that student engagement has positive impact on student satisfaction. We discuss the practical implication and suggestion for future research in the results and discussion section.