1. Research Problem The role of the instructor in online courses depends on course design. Traditional instructor responsibilities include class management, presentation of material, coordinating and assigning learning activities, student engagement and student evaluation. Online courses commonly have set templates for materials, learning activities and assessments. The role of the instructor changes into course facilitator, which includes engaging students in discussion, evaluating student work and assisting students with any difficulties they may encounter. The role of faculty is often seen as diminished, but actual impact of faculty on student success in online classes has not been rigorously examined.

2. Research Question What is your research question? Does instructor engagement in online classes contribute significantly to student success in A&P lab courses? Which type of feedback (acknowledgement or informational), and participation (socratic, administrative or social) will result in improved student outcomes? Should the instructor focus on feedback to assignments or participation in discussion to create a supportive online learning environment for students?

3. Research Methods My primary research methods include: Analysis of instructor engagement in archived online courses, compared with key student success factors (retention, grades and overall student success in the program) How will I collect these data?Review archived courses and collect data using rubrics. My strategy to analyze these data will be: Statistics

4. Alignment of Research Question and Methods Student success evaluated by - Student retention, course grade and progress in program. Instructor engagement addressed by: -Quantitative and qualitative analysis of instructor feedback on student assignments -Quantitative and qualitative analysis of instructor responses to student posts in discussion.