As more
college faculty get involved in developing and teaching online courses, they
appear to be changing their views on the effectiveness of digital education
compared to in-person classes, according to findings in a new survey.
The
2017 Survey of Faculty Attitudes on Technology, conducted by Inside Higher Ed with assistance from
the Online Learning Consortium and Gallup, revealed a fairly big shift in
faculty opinion on online classes. “While faculty members remain slightly more
likely to disagree than to agree that online courses can achieve student
outcomes that are as good as those of in-person courses, the proportion
agreeing rose sharply this year, and the proportion strongly disagreeing
dropped precipitously,” Inside Higher Ed reported.
About
42% of professors responding to the survey said they have taught at least one
online course, up from 39% the previous year. However, more faculty at public
institutions have conducted online classes than their counterparts at private
schools (46% vs. 21%).
Of
those instructors who have taught online, 71% indicated the experience had
sharpened their teaching skills in general. Less than half, though, had
received training in creating online courses and less than a third said their
schools adequately acknowledge the effort that goes into online instruction.
While
many institutions have pointed to cost savings as a major reason for offering
online courses, most of the survey respondents didn’t see any reduction in cost
and felt that administrators and technology vendors have exaggerated the
potential savings. Most respondents also said their institutions didn’t share
any data on student outcomes from their online courses.