CCE Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Computing Technology in Education (DCTE)

Department

Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences

Advisor

Gertrude W Abramson

Committee Member

Marilyn Olander

Committee Member

Helen St. Aubin

Keywords

distance education, faculty barriers, online faculty, online instruction, online learning, web-based education

Abstract

The enormous growth of online learning creates the need to develop a set of standards and guidelines for fully online programs. While many guidelines do exist, web-based programs still fall short in the recognition, adoption, or the implementation of these standards. One consequence is the high attrition rates associated with web-based distance learning programs. This poor outcome has a negative impact on the perceived quality of these programs which in turn limits the resources that are made available to academic institutions for implementation. Faculty plays a significant role in this dilemma. While academic administrators strive to enhance their online offerings for a number of reasons, faculty are faced with a number of barriers that deter them from adapting to this mode of delivery.

This report outlines how an in-depth analysis of these barriers was carried out. A mixed research synthesis design approach known as metasummary was used to synthesize the quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research studies that address the issue. The outcome of the synthesis was a set of solutions and recommendations that can be used to increase faculty buy-in and ownership of online learning. Regulatory bodies responsible for accrediting distance programs can benefit from these recommendations by including specific guidelines that explicitly consider the level of faculty satisfaction as a measurement of effectiveness when evaluating fully online programs.

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