ABSTRACT
This study's purpose was to research trends in community college students' perceptions of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and discover factors related their success, applying this knowledge to nursing education. Community college students (Nâ¯=â¯156) participated in the 34-question survey that asked questions related to perception of online learning, instructor involvement and characteristics of success. Thirty-seven percent of the sampling self-reported that they were nursing or allied health majors (Nâ¯=â¯51). A Bonferroni post hoc analysis showed strong differences between the students' ages and self-reported characteristics of success. A Pearson two-tailed correlation showed a correlation between instructor support and ease of transition to online learning (râ¯=â¯.312, pâ¯=â¯>.000) as well as a correlation between instructors providing ways to effectively communicate, promoting a deeper connection during the online learning transition during the pandemic (râ¯=â¯.729, pâ¯=â¯>.000). An ANOVA showed a strong correlation between students who had not taken online courses before the pandemic and attitudes about how much was learned compared to live classroom formats (F(1,145)â¯=â¯9.697, pâ¯=â¯.002). There were no significant differences in nursing students' responses and other majors regarding the transition to online learning or personal characteristics indicative of online learning success (Nursing SDâ¯=â¯.738; N on-nursing SDâ¯=â¯.781). Nursing students reported similarly of the correlation between instructor involvement/communication, deadline flexibility, student effort, and online learning success (Nursing SDâ¯=â¯.964; Non-nursing SDâ¯=â¯.967). Previous research was reinforced but more studies should be done to identify ways educators can enhance online learning to address student concerns.