The degree to which students express their personal stories and emotional feelings. 

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

University of Georgia

- social sharing 
- social respect
- open mind
- intimacy

Sung, E., & Mayer, R. E. (2012). Five facets of social presence in online distance education. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(5), 1738-1747.

The degree to which students feel that they share things in common with their peers. 

The degree to which a student feels that their instructor and classmates respect their peers' questions, ideas, and opinions. 

The degree to which a student understands and supports others' points of view. 