This study examines relationships among several variables within the context of online learning in higher education including self-regulated effort, maintained situational interest, gender differences, and age-related factors. Analyzing data from a diverse Open Cyber University of Korea student sample, the research highlights a positive correlation between self-regulated effort and maintained situational interest within university online learning environments, emphasizing the importance of sustained online engagement and curiosity in learning tasks. Gender differences reveal that female students exhibit higher levels of both self-regulated effort and maintained situational interest compared to males. While age shows a weak positive correlation with self-regulated effort, years of study demonstrate a similar weak positive correlation with maintained situational interest. The findings emphasize the necessity for tailored support strategies, particularly for male and younger students, to boost self-regulation skills and maintained situational interest in online learning. The study provides key insights for instructional design, emphasizing the relationship between self-regulated effort and sustained situational interest in distance education.