Navigating Virtual Halls: Stories of Online Transfer, Working Adult Learners' Journeys with Student Services

This qualitative narrative inquiry study explores lived experiences of seven working adult part-time online students, mostly community college transfers, in a Research 1 institution's online degree-completion program. Using in-depth interviews, four key themes are identified: access, engagement, inclusion, and university pride in students' interactions with student services. Access covers service availability, engagement the interaction quality, inclusion the feeling of being valued, and university pride the overall perception of their educational journey. Engagement further divides into positive connections and negative disconnections. Findings suggest positive experiences with student services, recommending enhanced service provisions for similar students to foster accessibility, engagement, inclusivity, and a positive institutional perception.