Distance education in the form of on-line classes has created a need for faculty to teach on-line. Unfortunately, not all instructors are created equal or able to teach on-line classes. Many instructors prefer the face to face teaching that a classroom environment affords. They are at home here whereas the online environment is an alien universe with new technology and at times little incentive to teach in it. This paper address the issue of faculty resistance to online teaching and how it affects the implementation of distance education courses in the universities and colleges that want to pursue this avenue of education for those students unable to attend a brick and mortar school. Strategies to help alleviate the resistance of faculty and suggestions for making online teaching an easier transition for instructors will follow the investigation of the reasons why faculty resist online teaching and its effect on distance education.
Why faculty is resistant to online or distance education.
Many university and faculty members are resistant to teaching online classes. Faculty cites various reasons for not wanting to teach online classes. Five reasons listed by Miller & Ribble (2010) are “increased workload, the altered role of the instructor, lack of technical and administrative support, reduced course quality, and negative attitudes of colleagues.” These reasons create a resistance to the change that online teaching presents.
Some universities and colleges push their faculty to adapt to the new technologies and teach online creating a disaster for students taking the class. Teaching in an online class requires different strategies and techniques than those used in a standard classroom. Voice inflection and gestures are gone and clear, concise typed lectures have replaced them. The instructor is no longer able to determine the level of understanding by looking at the students faces, but must determine it by the feedback received on discussion boards and community groups. These issues, along with all the other issues, creates a shortage of qualified faculty to teach the online learning community, whose student population continues to grow by leaps and bounds every year.
How does faculty resistance affect distance education?
More and more students are finding that obtaining their education online is more palatable than going to a university campus and spending time sitting in a classroom. They are able to log on to the class anytime during their day and do the work required on their schedule rather than have to be in a class at a certain time and interrupt what they are doing. Students who take online classes are often those who are older, have jobs and families to take care of and if not for the courses being offered online would probably not be able to continue their education.
In an effort to meet the demand for online courses, universities and colleges offer more and more programs and courses online, creating a need for more instructors to teach them. “Because of the resistance to changes in practice, the quality of online teaching is not adequate to the needs of future students” (Miller & Ribble, 2009, pg. 4). This is affecting the quality of the education offered online and could ultimately affect the reputation of the school as a whole. This lack of tenured faculty is also creating “staffing challenges under budget constraints and a growing reliance on part-time adjunct and non-tenure track instructors to teach online course” Chapman, (2011, pg. 1). The use of adjunct or non-tenured staff results in frequent turnover, lower quality in the education offered, and higher costs for recruiting and retention. “A reliable and consistent contingent of faculty is essential to growing and maintaining quality in distance education programs” (Chapman, 2010, pg. 1) for all colleges and universities.
Meeting the challenges of faculty resistance.
Since distance or online education continues to grow, it is important to develop methods to remedy the issues that plague the expansion of the programs. This will require that thought be put into the methods used to prepare new college instructors and assure that they will have the capabilities, both the knowledge base and the technological base, to teach online classes in a manner that provides quality education for all the students who choose online learning. As education changes, all faculty need to maintain their knowledge and competency at a level that is current with the practices and demands of the field that they are in, including online education. As leaders in education work to improve the situation, motivators must be found to encourage faculty to assume the responsibilities of teaching online.
Parker (2003)” reviewed over 100 articles about faculty motivation and incentives to teach distance education courses.” She found that distance education instructors are no different than traditional instructors, in that they want basic rewards. The intrinsic and extrinsic motivators could lead to methods to promote online teaching and encourage faculty to assume positions in online education. Providing what staff desire if possible can lead to job satisfaction and retention, as well as improved education for the online students. Items listed that would encourage faculty to teach online included tuition reimbursement, technical support, closer relationships with other faculty, and more job security.
Another way to provide for the needs of the online educators would be to incorporate online teaching classes for students pursuing a career in education. Providing education on how to navigate the various online programs, setting up curriculum to meet the online educational requirements and time constraints, and providing a course to teach them how to communicate using only the written word, would better prepare the college faculty of tomorrow for the growing online needs of the students. Since college students are migrating towards the use of the online learning systems provided, it is appropriate that colleges and universities look at teaching online educators in addition to teaching the traditional teaching methods.
Unfortunately, curbing the negativity from tenured staff towards online programs and staff will take time. As online programs do not have the history behind it that the brick and mortar schools have, it will take time to prove that this method of teaching is as effective as traditional methods. As the students who graduate from online programs excel and prove the worth of the online education they received, the negativity of tenured staff will subside. Making the position of online professor a tenure track position will also improve the way the positions are viewed. As long as adjunct professors are used to teach online, the program will continue to be viewed as substandard and temporary by some.
Conclusion
Faculty resistance to online or distance education is a result of the lack of education for the instructors, increased workload, lack of support, both technical and administrative, and the negative attitudes of colleagues. As long as these conditions remain, it will be an uphill battle to have dedicated and highly qualified faculty to teach students in online classes.
“Campuses nationwide have identified the need to enhance the availability of technology and promote the development of online courses and degree programs” (Axley, 2011, pg. 3). It is with this drive that colleges and universities need to look at how they are providing for the teaching of those classes and for the faculty that will teach them. As long as faculty are resistant to teaching online courses or distance education, the programs will suffer for lack of dedicated and qualified instructors.
References
Axley, L. (2008). The integration of technology into nursing curricula: Supporting faculty via the technology fellowship program. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 13(3) DOI: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol13No03PPT01
Chapman, D. D. (2011). Contingent and tenured/tenure-track faculty: Motivations and incentives to teach distance education courses. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration. 14(3). Pgs 1-11. Retrieved from
http://www.wetga.edu/distance/ojdla/fall143/chapman143.html
Collins, R. A. & Zacharakis, J. (2009). Impact of E-Learning on adult education: A changing postmodern approach. In Wang, V. C. X. (2009). Handbook of research on e-learning applications for career and technical
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Miller, T., & Ribble, M. (2010). Moving Beyond Bricks and Mortar: Changing the Conversation on Online Education. Educational Considerations, 37(2), 3-6. Retrieved from OmniFile Full Text Select database
Krauthamer, H. (2002). Teaching the teachers. Teaching English in the Two Year College, 30(2), 177. Retrieved from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 251617671
