"Higher education in the United States is currently facing an online retention crisis. Many more of the students in online classes are failing and dropping out compared with in-person classes. The author uses original survey and experimental data, together with quotes from students, to show what a difference it makes in student success when professors build relationships with their students"-- Provided by publisher

Acknowledgment -- Part I : the problem -- The promise and the peril of online higher education -- The digital divide -- Part II : the solution -- Relationships matter -- Strategies for building rapport -- Students on the edge -- Part III : what It will take -- The tradeoffs -- Building a support network -- Appendix A. example of pre-semester survey -- Appendix B. examples of rapport emails.