How important is community to mathematics and statistics distance learners?

Being part of a community has been shown to support the development of academic resilience, promote retention and improve attainment. This paper discusses the findings of a study which investigated the importance and experience of student communities for distance learning students currently studying mathematics and statistics modules. It was found that community with students on the same module or on similar degrees was the most important, whilst community with students in the same faculty; at the same university; with similar characteristics and with students in general were less valued. The proportion of students that felt community was important was significantly higher than those that felt part of a community. Students near the end of their degree felt community within a module was more important than students who had recently started, but felt other community groups were less relevant. Equally, students near the end of their degree were more likely to feel part of a community with others studying the same module than students at the start of their degree. Qualitative responses reinforced the priority of community with students on the same module but indicated a significant proportion of students had no interest in community, and there was notable variation in student views on how community could be generated.