An increasing number of students are choosing online education programs to complete their higher education. Research concludes that student satisfaction and retention are related to program completion. Furthermore, research indicates that physical distance alone does not influence student satisfaction and retention. In this study, we examined those factors associated with student perceptions of online course communications and collaboration at a large, public university located in the southwestern United States. Results indicate that academic program characteristics and whether a student would recommend their program are associated with differences in perception of online course communications and collaboration.