Learning Management System engagement, connectivity and facilitation in a Southern African Open and Distance electronic Learning institution

This study examines student engagement, and social investment in interacting with Learning Management System (LMS) content and peers, within one faculty of a Southern African Open and Distance electronic Learning (ODeL) institution. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework served as complementary interpretive lenses. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design combined a stratified random survey (N = 251), lecturer interviews (n = 16), and aggregate LMS log data. Connectivity and facilitation gaps featured prominently in student and lecturer accounts, with lecturers attributing the latter to workload. Video lectures were among the least used and reported hardest to access (43.0%), yet many respondents named them most helpful as reported engaging with them (25.9% vs. 12.7%). Timely-feedback ratings differed significantly by department (H(4) = 19.47, p < .001, ε2 = .079), the only comparison surviving multiple-testing correction. Aggregate satisfaction varied little across connectivity-impact groups, indicating aggregate monitoring mask dimension-specific variation. Discussion forums were rated moderately useful yet often hard to access, suggesting that intermittent connectivity disrupts CoI’s interdependent presences. Findings are framed against SDG 4, Agenda 2063, and the SADC Protocol, and scoped to this institution and comparable regional ODeL contexts.