While the academic scholarship has been focused on the theoretical understanding of "online learning readiness," there has been limited exploration for its practical application. This research study aims to spotlight a novel paradigm of scholarly-practitioner approaches dedicated to thoroughly examining online readiness by employing a mixed-methods methodology informed by two guiding theories: "connectionism theory," aligning with the nature of learning, and "self-directed learning theory," serving as the foundational framework for assessing online student competencies. The study engaged a total of 119 participants, all of whom were online students enrolled at an Open Campus of a Caribbean University. An explanatory sequential "mixed-method research design" was implemented to examine online readiness. The first phase involved distributing a modified pre-designed survey instrument to identify key factors influencing online readiness. The data collected was interrogated by both "exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses" which suggested a four-factor model comprising 15 manifest variables. The second phase involved conducting a focus group discussion with an additional nine students followed by interviews with a subsample of seven survey completers. Through coding and "thematic analysis" of the collected data, common themes emerged, including communication, technology, and self-directed learning. In light of these findings, the researcher, along with institutional researchers, proposed and reached a consensus on conducting an online readiness workshop as the selected change intervention for the third phase of "improvement science." As such, this process underscored the presence of a reciprocal collaboration, in terms of the researcher's positionality, toward recommendations and policy actions which were formulated for the Open Campus as well as identified directions for future research. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]