Introduction
The number of students enrolled in online and distance education courses
has been increasing since 2000 (Allen & Seaman, 2013). In the fall of
2015, there were 5,954,121 students enrolled in any distance education
courses at degree-granting postsecondary institutions (U.S. Department
of Education, 2015). This increase in virtual education had brought
about pedagogical changes and adaptations that have altered the roles of
the educator and learner, and had reshaped the environment in which they
interact. According to the 2017 distance enrollment report by theDigital Learning Compass , the number of students who have
enrolled in online courses had surpassed six million nationally,
continuing a growth trend that has been consistent for 13 years (Allen
& Seaman, 2017). Additionally, more than a quarter of higher education
students (29.7 percent) in the United States have enrolled in at least
one online course (Online Learning Consortium, 2017). The purpose of
this study was to examine predictors of success for online learners. To
this end, the researchers sought to further understand whether
familiarity with and access to technology, employment status, academic
readiness are predictors of grade point average and satisfactions for
students enrolled in online courses.