Virtual Connections, Real Support: Online Students Communicate, Collaborate

Students enrolled in online degree programs work together and support each other in several ways – even if they never meet in person.

How do University of Arkansas online students make connections?

They use all sorts of electronic communication methods including texting, Facebook groups, social media apps, email and the Blackboard learning management system used in U of A courses.

What do they talk about?

They get to know each other, where they live, what sort of work they do, whether they are caring for children or elderly parents, what their goals are, what their strengths are. Conversations also cover course material, assignment strategies and key points emphasized by professors.

Group Texting

“At the beginning of the semester, our instructor places us in groups,” said Bailey King of Fayetteville, Arkansas, a Master of Science in Nursing student who expects to graduate in December of 2025. “Email addresses are available on Blackboard. We send emails and exchange phone numbers. Then, we send group texts to each other.”

Texts at the beginning of a semester start with introductions and discussion of schedules so the students can set up online meetings on Zoom or Teams. Most are working full time as well as managing families.

“We feel each other out: What’s your background? What do you hope to accomplish?” King said. “We will get to know each other on a deep level during 12-week courses.”

Students use their peers as resources, she said. They bounce ideas off each other and discover everyone’s strong points so they can divvy up group work to their best advantage. For example, King works as an adjunct clinical instructor for the nursing school and shares her expertise with teaching in the nursing school’s simulation laboratories. She also works at Washington Regional Medical Center in the operating room, ambulatory surgery center and recovery area.

“Some of my classmates have not taught in a simulation environment,” she said. “I am able to bring that. Some are school nurses and they bring insights. We very much help each other out when we have objectives to meet.”

They also celebrate events such as work promotions, and they commiserate and encourage each other when someone feels overwhelmed with responsibilities, she said.

“Talking with classmates can be a really good mental health check-in,” she said.

When she was pondering enrolling in an online degree program, it occurred to King that not every student would pull their weight.

“What if I was stuck with people who don’t do the work,” she said. “But we are driven in the nursing field in general, I think. That’s why we are doing what we’re doing. Everyone wants an advanced education. I have never experienced someone not doing their part. Nobody slacks off. Everyone edits each other’s work and has comments, questions and suggestions.”

WhatsApp

Veronica Jackson of Texarkana, Arkansas, a doctoral student in the adult and lifelong learning program, had never used WhatsApp before enrolling in the program. A research associate and leadership trainer for UA CURRENTS (Center for the Utilization of Rehabilitation Resources for Education, Networking, Training & Service), she is on track to complete the degree in the summer of 2026.

“It was kind of overwhelming at the beginning,” she said. “I wasn’t used to the constant communication.”

Sometimes during the week, she would turn off her notifications to avoid being distracted from her regular workday. She felt some pressure in the beginning, thinking that maybe she was doing something wrong, and she might have dropped out of the program during one particularly complex class were it not for support and guidance from other students, Jackson said.

“I thought I was the only one struggling and the only one confused,” until students in the group talked about the class, she said. “Also, people reached out separately and offered help. That really helped me to feel like I’m going to be fine.”

She also learned to appreciate differences in the ways students work.

“Is something wrong with me that I’m not getting done earlier or going above and beyond? What type of student do I want to be?” she wondered more than once before settling into a rhythm that worked for her. “I can make my own way while knowing I have support. I am not an overachiever. That can be their way, and I can have my way and that’s OK.”

Jackson used her knowledge as a certified life coach to help her classmates, too, reassuring students that one grade would not hamper their progress toward graduation and the academic title of doctor.

“Instead of attaching judgment to the way I was learning, I thought about what is OK with me,” Jackson said. “I am OK with being a B student, and I shifted the way I communicated with others.”

GroupMe App

Emma Raines of Newport, Tennessee, will graduate this December with her bachelor’s degree in supply chain management. Employed in a supply chain role for more than 30 years, she has taken part in student-led conversational groups throughout her program.

The students ask each other questions about lectures and assignments and seek help, she said. Being an older student with more life and work experience than some of her classmates has given her a bit of an edge in understanding some of the material and she’s happy to share with others, she said. Others have helped her, too.

“An online class is a lot different from face-to-face,” Raines said. “You may feel like, oh my gosh, is anyone struggling like I am? Those groups give you an opportunity to see you’re pretty much on track with the class. It’s important to get that feedback.”

Some students may compare themselves to other students based on conversations in these groups, she said, which may be daunting, especially at first. But it’s also helpful to realize everyone’s life is different with different workloads and complexities, she said. If someone finishes an assignment early, it’s an opportunity to see how they interpreted the material and to ask for help, she said.

“I have come to terms with the fact that we are all working toward the same goal, but we are working individually,” Raines said. “We will meet all the deadlines, and nobody is going to be harder on me than me.”

More Group Texting

Ashley Enz of Overland Park, Kansas, is a special education administrator working on a doctorate in educational leadership. She is scheduled to graduate in May of 2026. She said Kevin Brady, one of the program’s professors, suggested students exchange phone numbers so they could converse by text. The five members of their cohort live in five states.

“As we got into the semester, there were more questions like, ‘Do you understand the content? Did you see this? I am not understanding this.’ One person always seems to be ahead of the rest of us and asks a faculty member a question by email and shares the information with the rest of us,” Enz said.

She has completed online programs for building-level and district superintendent-level licensure. Some of the students also formed relationships separately based on the similarities of their careers, she said.

“My other online courses taught me how to do my job,” Enz said. “These courses are helping me think differently about my job. The collaboration is more fluid than it was on discussion boards, more real and authentic. It’s an amazing experience.”

Facebook

Leslie Pamungkas of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, who is in her final year of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, volunteered to serve as graduate student representative for the program. That means she manages communication among faculty members and students, between 50 and 60 people combining recent cohorts. Pamungkas has primarily worked in neonatal intensive care and will move into a family nurse practitioner role once she completes her doctorate.

For formal communication, she mostly uses email through Blackboard, Pamungkas said, but she also fosters conversations on a private Facebook group, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Topics cover deadlines, how to access the clinical compliance app students use, questions about assignments, what instructors want, things students struggle with, and other questions they have.

“We also have personal discussions,” Pamungkas said. “We have quite a few discussions about work-life balance. I have six kids, four at home, so I get a lot of questions about how do you take care of your kids, go to school and work full time. We talk about keeping laundry done, just how to get everything done.”

She suggests to her classmates that they look at the big picture.

“You’re going to sacrifice some time right now in order to provide more stability in the future,” she explains. “I usually tell all the students, set aside one day a week where you don’t do any schoolwork, or you’ll burn yourself out. You don’t want to open your eyes when you graduate in four years and don’t know what’s going on with your kids. Talk with them and with your spouse so you don’t lose that connection throughout the program.”

If someone sends her a private message, when appropriate, Pamungkas will go into the group and give an answer to benefit everyone.

“Sometimes, I make a tutorial on how to do something,” she said. “It depends on the situation. I find it valuable to be able to help others. All of us, because we’re nurses, that’s what we do. I end up learning something, too.”