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The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to examine how instructor presence, specifically as it related to caring, is perceived by students in an asynchronous online classroom environment by comparing two different modes of communication used by two different groups of students. The framework for this study was the community of inquiry (CoI) and its elements, social presence and teaching presence, from which instructor presence was developed. Secondary data in which graduate counseling students were split into two groups, one that communicated with their instructor via asynchronous video and the other that communicated via text was used to answer the research question: To what extent does the communication medium (email vs. asynchronous video) used to communicate with an instructor in an online class influence a student’s perception of instructor presence, specifically as it relates to viewing the instructor as caring? The results of the chi-square test for independence indicated that the communication medium (asynchronous video vs. email) had little to no impact on students’ perceptions of instructor presence as it related to caring within the context of this study. Results suggested that both video and text communication methods were equally effective for fostering a sense of instructor presence in asynchronous online class communications. The study failed to reject the null hypothesis, which stated there is no significant difference in students’ perception of instructor presence between those who used asynchronous video and those who used textbased communication. This dissertation contributes to the body of research examining the impact of using asynchronous video vs. text to enhance online student success. Further research with graduate STEM students and undergraduate STEM and social science majors is recommended.