Analysis of sense of community at Anadolu University Open Education System Online Student Communities

The aim of this study is to investigate the sense of community levels of students enrolled in Open Education System Online Student Communities in terms of various variables. The research was carried out as a descriptive study based on survey design. A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from students enrolled in the Open Education System Online Student Communities during the 2021–2022 academic year. In the research, the Online Learning Community Sense Scale (Sense of Community Index-2) and Social Presence Scale were used together with the personal information form prepared by the researcher. According to the results of the research, it has been observed that students enrolled in online student communities have a high sense of community. It was concluded that the sense of community of the students did not differ significantly according to gender, employment status, type of enrollment, enrolled open education program, and the state of being a member of a community or multiple communities; but did differ significantly according to age, attending the meetings, and time spent in communities. In addition, it was concluded that as students' perceptions of social presence increased, their sense of community also increased, and the social presence perceptions of students enrolled in online student communities had a significant effect on their sense of community.