Attracting and retaining students in a COVID-distanced online higher education market is more important than ever. With limited access to campus, extensive student choice, and precarious institutional revenue, understanding what makes a positive online student experience in the eyes of students themselves, is vital for institutional survival. Through an in-depth case study of online first-year university students, this research identified six themes that describe students’ lived experiences of online education (OE), summarised as a motivation, ability, circumstances – interaction, curriculum, environment, or MAC-ICE, thematic structure of the online student experience (OSE). Where online students are deeply motivated, possess the skills to participate effectively in online university education, and are situated in conducive circumstances, they may be well placed for a positive student experience. Supplementing this, universities may facilitate a quality OSE through meaningful interaction with instructors, peers, and course content; flexible, challenging, and relevant curricula; and a reliable, innovative learning environment commensurate with the on-campus student experience. The rich description provided by this research enables generation of propositions about students’ experiences of OE, and suggests opportunities to enhance the OSE through consideration of identified themes.   Implications for practice or policy: The OSE can be described by students’ motivation, ability, and circumstances, alongside institutional interaction, curriculum, and environment. OE may be perceived to involve more work, greater concentration, better time management, more self-regulation, and a heavier reliance on technology, than on-campus education. OE research may be confounded, where particular MAC-ICE themes are insufficiently considered. Online student outcomes may be increased through purposeful consideration of all MAC-ICE themes.

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在线学生体验：MAC-ICE 主题结构

在远离 COVID 的在线高等教育市场中吸引和留住学生比以往任何时候都更加重要。由于进入校园的机会有限、学生选择范围广、机构收入不稳定，了解是什么让学生自己眼中的在线学生体验积极，对于机构的生存至关重要。通过对在线一年级大学生的深入案例研究，本研究确定了描述学生在线教育 (OE) 生活体验的六个主题，概括为动机、能力、环境——互动、课程、环境或 MAC -ICE，在线学生体验 (OSE) 的主题结构。在线学生积极性高，具备有效参与在线大学教育的技能，并且处于有利的环境中，他们可能很适合获得积极的学生体验。作为补充，大学可以通过与教师、同伴和课程内容进行有意义的互动来促进高质量的 OSE；灵活、具有挑战性和相关的课程；以及与校园学生体验相称的可靠、创新的学习环境。这项研究提供的丰富描述使得能够生成关于学生 OE 体验的命题，并通过考虑确定的主题提出了增强 OSE 的机会。对实践或政策的影响：OSE 可以通过学生的动机、能力和环境以及机构互动、课程和环境来描述。OE 可能被认为涉及更多的工作、更高的注意力、更好的时间管理、更多的自我调节、并且比校园教育更依赖技术。如果没有充分考虑特定的 MAC-ICE 主题，OE 研究可能会被混淆。通过有目的地考虑所有 MAC-ICE 主题，可以提高在线学生的学习成绩。