The Impact of Online Graduate Students' Motivation and Self-Regulation on Academic Procrastination

With the rapid growth in online programs come concerns about how best to support student learning in this segment of the university population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of effort regulation, a self-regulatory skill, and intrinsic motivation on online graduate students’ levels of academic procrastination, behavior that can adversely affect both the quality and quantity of student work. This research was guided by one primary question: Are online graduate students’ intrinsic motivation and use of effort regulation strategies predictive of procrastination? Results indicated that as intrinsic motivation to learn and effort regulation decrease, procrastination increases. Specific strategies for encouraging effort regulation and intrinsic motivation in online graduate students are presented.