| Decision makers in higher education are including online programs in their long-term strategy in an effort to increase enrollment and market share. As a result, they must understand the importance of improving the student learning experience with the university's learning management system (LMS). Although learning, teaching, communication, design, and management are the five components of LMS, the learning component was the focus of this research. The research question guiding the study was, What can be learned from a study of the preferred use of the learning component elements of learning management systems from the perspective of university graduates? The learning component consisted of 13 elements: assignments, assessments, discussion board, e-mail, grade book, blog, videos, announcements, survey, calendar, course documents, virtual classroom, and course roster. In order to contribute further knowledge to this important phenomenon, this qualitative, exploratory case study used a sample from the first 20 respondents of university graduates who had used the preferred learning component elements of LMS. A 16-item data collection instrument was used to conduct telephone interviews with the university graduates. The significant findings were used to rank the elements of the learning component by importance from the perspective of the university graduates. University leaders may need to make adjustments regarding additions, changes, and deletions to the LMS in order to include the preferred use of the learning component elements. Findings from this study suggested that if university leaders understand what elements are being used, they will be able to determine where to invest limited resources for maximum effectiveness from the perspective of university graduates. A recommendation for future research is to conduct a study of the other four components of the LMS. |
