A Glance at Institutional Support for Faculty Teaching in an Online Learning Environment (original) (raw)

A survey of higher education institutions in a 12-state region investigated how they support faculty with the design and development of web-based classes. The literature on best practices guided the creation of the web-based survey questions, which targeted the chief academic affairs officers on each campus or the appropriate delegate. The study found that institutions offer a variety of support services to online faculty, such as requiring training prior to teaching online and including web-based learning in institutional goals and strategic plans. The next step implied by the study findings is for institutions to look at strategies that influence the desired behavior changes among faculty to use the institutional support mechanisms provided. With continued advances in web-based learning, colleges and universities strive to meet the needs and interests of students, faculty, and staff. New instructional technologies have at least one thing in common: the learning curve associated with users becoming adept. Mastery requires significant time and attention. Providing the best quality experiences in a web-based learning environment, including but not limited to learning, requires attention not only to the best practices and newest technologies but also to how institutions support and prepare faculty to accomplish such tasks. This article reports findings from a recent study we conducted that looked at how institutions support faculty with the design and development of web-based classes. The compiled findings provide some insight as to how institutions view online learning and how they support faculty in preparing to deliver online classes. This information may help individual institutions determine where they stand relative to other institutions and their own goals. Ann Taylor and Carol McQuiggan's 2008 article in EQ identified several of the support mechanisms online faculty desire, such as assistance with "converting course materials for online use" and "facilitating online discussion forums" as well as additional less-formal and self-paced learning materials. 1 Our study's findings touch on some of Taylor and McQuiggan's findings, which we consider variables or factors affecting faculty success in the web-based classroom. A few of the many other factors that can affect the design, development, and success of a web-based course include online learner needs, 2 the nurturing of community, 3 highly interactive environments, 4 and classroom climate. 5 Research Design Our study looked at provisions of institutional support for web-based classes in a major region of the United States. We identified 12 states in the region and from them selected 364 institutions of higher education. The main criterion used in identifying participating institutions was that they, at a minimum, offer bachelor's degrees. For institutions that, according to their Carnegie Classification, had several satellite campuses, we chose to include only the home campus in an effort to be more conservative with the sample and minimize validity issues (avoiding multi-counting under the same institutional profile). Of the initial campuses selected, 98 participated in the survey for a participation rate of 27 percent.