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.