Out of sight, out of mind: Students struggle to keep up with online classes

A few weeks into the Spring 2026 semester, college students have certainly gotten into the groove of things. Class schedules are memorized, professors can remember their students’ names, most students have taken – and hopefully aced – their first exams. Things are looking up. That’s when the dreaded automated email from Moodle comes: something is overdue. 

For many Lee students, including senior early childhood education major Diana Riggs, that email didn’t mean just a late assignment – it meant realizing she’d completely forgotten she was enrolled in an online class. 

“I’m in online physical science, and my professor sends us an email about once a week discussing everything that week holds,” Riggs said. “Usually, those emails are what reminds me I’m even taking the class.” 

As a first semester senior, Riggs is currently enrolled in Methods of Education, which involves a placement in a local elementary school twice a week, on top of a 16 hour class load. 

“Whenever I remember this science class, I get so overwhelmed. There are times where my schedule has been so busy it isn’t until Friday that I even remember I need to do it all,” Riggs said. 

She isn’t alone in this. Emma Thomas is a graduate student in the school counseling program at Lee, enrolled in two online classes while balancing a full time job and three in person courses. 

“When I realize I have more work to do for my online classes, my immediate response is, ‘Well crap!’ Thomas said. “I feel like I have so much going on, and forgetting my online classes is so frustrating.” 

With online coursework often lacking the routine that in-person classes provide, it can easily slip students’ minds – especially when assignments are tucked away in a separate tab or platform. Unlike traditional classes with built-in reminders and face-to-face check-ins, online classes rely almost entirely on self-discipline and digital notifications. If those notifications get buried in our crowded inboxes, it’s easy for a deadline to disappear along with them. 

For most students, the issue isn’t laziness or lack of motivation: it’s overload. Between jobs, extracurriculars, internships, and full course loads, online classes can unintentionally become “out of sight, out of mind.” 

Ironically, the flexibility that makes online classes appealing is often the same thing that makes them easy to forget. Lee students, don’t forget about your online classes!

For student success resources, visit www.leeuniversity.edu/student-success/ or call (423) 473-3761.