This study compared the effects of academic motivation on traditional and online community college students. Online enrollment continues to increase, especially in public colleges and universities. Academic success in online courses, however, continues to lag behind academic success in face-to-face courses, especially for community college students. Previous studies have indicated that online students tend to have higher levels of intrinsic motivation, but these studies focused on university students. This study extends that research by examining the effects of motivation on community college students. The Academic Motivation Survey was used to collect data from 398 community college students at a Midwestern community college. A MANOVA analysis revealed that online community college students do have higher levels of intrinsic motivation than their face-to-face counterparts, but the difference between the two groups is not as wide as the difference in intrinsic motivation between online and face-to-face university students. Motivational differences were also found between College Credit Plus students and the traditional community college students, as well as significant differences between age groups and males and females. Community college students were also found to have significantly lower levels of intrinsic motivation than university students. Implications for instructional design for community college students are discussed. [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.]