Why college students procrastinate in online courses: A self-regulated learning perspective

The purpose of this study was to examine why college students procrastinated in online courses from a self-regulated learning perspective. A sample of 207 college students participated in this study. Using path modeling, the results showed that students' perceived content relevance and technology usability indirectly predicted academic procrastination through the roles of task value and emotional cost. Conscientiousness was also an important predictor of academic procrastination. Perceived instructor engagement and peer interaction did not predict academic procrastination. These findings revealed that academic procrastination in online courses was a complex phenomenon and stemmed from the interrelationships between college students' perceptions of learning context, personal characteristics, and motivational beliefs. Practical implications for addressing academic procrastination in online courses are discussed in this paper. •Why college students procrastinate in online courses is examined.•Procrastination is indirectly related to perceived course structures.•Procrastination is directly related to conscientiousness and motivational beliefs.•Tailoring course content to students' needs through needs analysis is recommended.•All technology components in a course need to be user-friendly and accessible.