EDUCAUSE | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses; Articles, Papers, and Reports; and Faculty Computing Support

Addressing Faculty Concerns About Distance Learning

drupal — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 15:31:17 -0600

Despite the rapid growth of distance learning programs, faculty are often resistant to moving their courses into a distance learning format. This article synthesizes the common sources of concern among resistant faculty as identified in the literature, the mechanisms to bridge those concerns, and evaluates the effectiveness of the administrative solutions for faculty support that have sought to address them.

Managing Virtual Adjunct Faculty: Applying the Seven Principles of Good Practice

drupal — Tue, 05 Jul 2005 11:39:27 -0500

Since the publication of the Seven Principles of Good Practice in 1987 by Chickering and Gamson, distance education has become a major delivery method for higher education. Virtual adjunct faculty have largely carried higher education into the cyber classroom. Adjunct faculty have always been broadly used in higher education, especially in the community college setting. Nationally, adjuncts teach 30-50% of all credit courses. At community colleges, adjuncts compose about 60% of all faculty (Gappa and Leslie, 1993).

Florida Community College at Jacksonville (FCCJ) has one of the largest distance learning programs in the state of Florida with yearly enrollments of more than 35,000. About 80% of all online course offerings are taught by virtual adjuncts. About 70% of the active 250 adjuncts teaching in the program reside in the state of Florida , and the other half in assorted states. This paper offers best practices for the support and management of online adjunct faculty within the framework of the Seven Principles for Best Practice.

Best Practices: A Triangulated Support Approach in Transitioning Faculty to Online Teaching

drupal — Tue, 12 Apr 2005 10:44:47 -0500

The English department at North Carolina State University faced a rapid, large-scale transition of a number of its professional writing courses from traditional classes to online courses. Recognizing that numerous barriers, including unresolved administrative issues, faculty resistance, and lack of training could impede this process, administrators and faculty members collaborated to ensure that appropriate resources, peer support, and adequate professional development were available for the success of this endeavor. This transition became an opportunity for professional development activities and for carefully orchestrated administrative and peer support. As a result, twenty of forty-two professional writing classes were delivered online in the fall of 2004, and twenty of forty classes are being delivered in spring 2005.

Faculty & Technology: Rewarding TET

drupal — Mon, 11 Oct 2004 15:30:47 -0500

Despite rapid adoption of technology-enhanced and teaching (TET) in higher education, institutions may unwittingly be thwarting faculty use of the tools.