New
research shows a majority of faculty members continue to fear the growth of
online education, but that could change as more instructors begin to use
technology. Conflicted: Faculty and Online Education, 2012, reports that while nearly
70% of instructors who only taught in classrooms were afraid of the online push,
59% of instructors who taught an online course were more excited about the
trend.
The
study conducted by Inside
Higher Ed and the Babson Survey Research Group, surveyed 4,546 faculty members
and 591 academic technology administrators. Respondents were questioned about
their perceptions of online quality, institutional support and training, and
compensation.
The
report found diverging viewpoints on online education between faculty and
administrators. Nearly 60% of all faculty respondents either agreed with or
were neutral to questions about whether their institutions were “pushing too
much online.” At the same time, 79% of administrators disagreed with the
notion.
Faculty
gave failing grades to online learning outcomes, with 66% saying they were
lower than tradition classroom work. While 39% of teachers who had taught
online agreed with the substandard learning outcomes, nearly half said online
and traditional courses produced similar results and 66% of online instructors
felt online teaching was capable of matching classroom instruction.
“Learning
how to teach online probably would be one of the best steps a professor could take
to assure viability in the 21st century,” wrote John Thelin in a follow-up essay on the report that appeared in Inside Higher Ed. “The most dysfunctional
response by a professor today would be to dismiss or ignore both the technology
and the social consequence online learning has.”
Thelin,
a professor at the University of Kentucky who describes himself as “not so much
low-tech as slow-tech,” wrote about his efforts to take one of his graduate classes
online. While the course preparation phase was thoughtful and innovative, getting
official approval included delay and “unreasonable obstacles.” At the same
time, he concluded that online courses do not necessarily mean new revenue for
the school or savings for students.
“All
the variables of effectiveness, efficiency, cost, and price are subject to the
same complexities, adjustments, and vacillations of any higher education
program offering,” Thelin wrote.
