Emotional Intelligence as a Predictor of Success in Online Learning

Abstract

As students increasingly opt for online classes, it becomes more important for administrators to predict levels of potential academic success. This study examined several factors to characterize successful online college students, including emotional intelligence (EI), persistence, personality, age, gender and previous online experience among students attending community college. Factor analysis revealed two profiles labeled ‘EI’ and ‘Persuasive’. EI was positively correlated with GPA and resilience. Males had significantly higher EI than females. EI was unrelated to age, personality, number of semesters completed, program of study and previous online experience. Conclusions were that there may be a profile of the successful online student that could be used in marketing, advisement, quality assessment and retention efforts.