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Staying Connected: MPA Student Perceptions of Transactional Presencedebate has shifted from comparing course mediums to focusing on the qualityof online education.Transactional DistanceOne of the most common concerns regarding online education istransactional distance (Robertson, Grant, & Jackson, 2005; Moore, 1997),which is the separation between teachers and students. There are degrees oftransactional distance. The concept is not simply an issue of geographicseparation (Moore, 1997), given that it also can occur in face-to-face classrooms(Rumble, 1986). Moore (1997) describes it as “the universe of teacher-learnerrelationships that exist[s] when learners and instructors are separated by spaceand/or by time” (p. 22). Specifically,The transaction that we call distance education occurs between teachersand learners in an environment having the special characteristic ofseparation of teacher from learners. This separation leads to specialpatterns of learner and teacher behaviours. It is the separation oflearners and teachers that profoundly affects both teaching and learning.With separation there is a psychological and communications space tobe crossed, a space of potential misunderstanding between the inputs ofinstructor and those of the learner. It is this psychological andcommunications space that is the transactional distance. … It is arelative rather than absolute term (Moore, 1997, p. 22).According to Moore (1997), the degree of transactional distance isinfluenced by three interrelated variables: (1) the dialogue between learners andteachers, (2) the structure of the instructional program, and (3) learnerautonomy. Moore postulates that transactional distance is increased by lowdialogue and high structure, but can be mitigated by increased studentautonomy. This claim is supported by the finding that online student success isdetermined by the immediacy of information, feedback, and assistance (Wilson& Whitelock, 1998; Vonderwell, 2003). In contrast, high dialogue and lowstructure decrease the need for learner autonomy because transactional distanceis lower in such situations. Because online courses tend to have lower dialogueand higher structure, it is not surprising that online students need higher levelsof motivation and self-discipline than students in traditional courses (Wilson,1996; Rivero, 1998; Ahern & Repman, 1994; Hiltz, 1994; Barth, 2004;Cohen, Eimicke, Kamlet, & Pearson, 1998), and that successful onlinestudents are characterized as self-motivated, independent, and organized(Irizarry, 2002). In order to mitigate transactional distance in online courses,faculty should have frequent and consistent communication with students anddesign courses with flexibility.320 Journal of Public Affairs Education
Staying Connected: MPA Student Perceptions of Transactional PresenceTransactional PresenceBuilding on Moore’s (1997) concept of transactional distance, Shin (2002)coined the term “transactional presence” to capture the feeling of connectednessand availability in distance education. Similar to Moore (1997), the term“transactional” refers to relatedness, while “presence” refers to social richness.This richness “involves the degree to which media are capable of making usersperceive other users’ sociability, warmth, sensitivity, personality, or closeness in amediate[d] communication situation” (Shin, 2002, p. 124). In other words, it isthe “feeling of contact” (Williams, 1978, p. 127; Shin 2002, p. 126). Socialpresence is significant because it is positively related to online studentsatisfaction (Boverie, Nagel, McGee, & Garcia, 1997; Gunawardena & Zittle,1997; Hackman & Walker, 1990); it can bridge the physical distance of onlineeducation. In essence, it focuses on the psychological presence that is oftenmissing in online education.Shin (2003) examined the role of transactional presence by surveying 506undergraduate distance-education students at Korea National Open University.Results indicate that Institutional Transactional Presence (TP) predicts overallstudent satisfaction, a student’s intent to persist (graduate), and studentperceivedlearning achievement. Teacher TP influences student-perceivedlearning achievement, and Peer TP influences satisfaction and intent to persist.These findings suggest that universities providing online education need to beaware of the role of faculty and peers, as well as the institution’s interactions andrelationships with students. Student support services are critical to aninstitution’s success (Sewart, 1993; Tait, 1996).Transactional presence may be critical for some student populations’ successin online educational formats. In comparing online and traditional classes,Rovai and Gallien (2005) found that African-American students prefer learningin traditional class settings more than white students do. The sense ofcommunity developed in the traditional classroom setting may be more valuedfor this student population than independent learning in online formats (Rovai& Gallien, 2005). Kirkup and von Prummer (1990) argue that women in theirstudy preferred interactive learning styles that are more likely to be found intraditional classroom settings, and “demonstrated a strong need for connectionwith others during their studies” (Kirkup & von Prummer, 1990, p. 28).STUDY AND METHODOLOGYThis study assesses MPA student perceptions of transactional presence in twoareas —with faculty and with peers. Specifically, it looks at students’ perceptionsregarding the amount and satisfaction of contact they have with faculty andpeers. Its aim is to evaluate the extent to which MPA students perceivetransactional or social presence in online graduate courses at a mid-sized urbanuniversity. While most studies have focused on individual online classesJournal of Public Affairs Education 321
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