I teach statistics for Excelsior and have found many students come into the courses with a bit of trepidation. Possibly because of past negative experiences with math courses, I believe some have statistics anxiety. Research shows that one characteristic of folks with statistics anxiety is fear of the instructor which translates into fear of asking questions.
I just found an interesting article that suggests students who ask a lot of questions do better in courses. My own anecdotal evidence supports this idea. Try it. I think you will find Excelsior instructors ready and willing to help.