Integrating students' perspectives about online learning: a hierarchy of factors.

This article reports on a large-scale ( = 987), exploratory factor analysis study incorporating various concepts identified in the literature as critical success factors for online learning from the students' perspective, and then determines their hierarchical significance. Seven factors--Basic Online Modality, Instructional Support, Teaching Presence, Cognitive Presence, Online Social Comfort, Online Interactive Modality, and Social Presence--were identified as significant and reliable. Regression analysis indicates the minimal factors for enrollment in future classes-when students consider convenience and scheduling-were Basic Online Modality, Cognitive Presence, and Online Social Comfort.