What to do when online instructor not giving meaningful feedback on research project? I am enrolled in an on-line graduate course (US public university). I do not live near the campus, so I cannot attend office hours (which aren't even offered).

For 3 months, I've been working on a research paper for the course. At regular deadlines, I've submitted my progress electronically, however, the instructor's feedback was sparse in each case:


No feedback on whether my chosen topic was okay.
No replies to my public posts/E-mails about some concerns I had in approaching the topic.
Only minimal markings, e.g. pointed out a few grammar/MLA mistakes, no comments focused on my ideas, organization, etc.


I do not even know if the instructor read my work. The project is worth a significant portion of the course grade, but the instructor has given such little input and I have no idea if the paper is good or terrible. What can I do?
I see three likely paths for you to take, depending on the quality of the program that you are enrolled in.


If you haven't already done so, explicitly ask the professor for more concrete feedback on your work.  You might simply be having a communications problem, where the professor assumes "no news is good news."
If the professor doesn't not respond constructively, escalate to somebody higher up, like a dean.  Approach delicately, as a student concerned and asking for help, rather than making demands.
If you don't get a satisfactory response from the dean, then it may be that the online program you are enrolled in is crap, and you should not bother investing your time and money in it.  Some online programs are quite serious and good, while others are essentially just for-profit scams, and yours might well be one of them.