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A SURVEY OF TRADITIONAL
AND DISTANCE LEARNING
HIGHER EDUCATION
MEMBERS
Commissioned by
The National Education Association
June 2000
n
Executive Summary
n
Report
n
Appendix
1201 16
th
Street, NW
•
Washington, DC 20036
•
www.nea.org/he
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Table Of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................3
THE REPORT............................................................................11
I.
Introduction..................................................................................................12
II.
Distance Learning Faculty: Who Are They?............................................12
III.
NEA Members Hold Positive Opinions Of Distance
Learning........................................................................................................20
IV.
Distance Learning Courses: What They Look Like................................22
§
Communicating With Students In Distance Learning Courses...................22
§
Developing The Course..............................................................................25
§
Characterizing The Student Body...............................................................30
V.
The Potential And The Concerns: What Faculty Think
About Distance Learning............................................................................35
§
Overview.....................................................................................................35
§
Advantages Of Distance Learning Courses ...............................................36
§
Concerns About Distance Learning Courses .............................................39
§
Comparing Traditional And DL Courses On Meeting Educational Goals...45
VI.
Current Compensation Practices..............................................................49
APPENDIX:
Survey design and methods
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Executive Summary
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Executive Summary And Strategic Recommendations
Faculty teaching distance learning courses and faculty teaching traditional courses
hold positive opinions about distance learning, primarily because distance learning courses
offer educational opportunities to students who would not otherwise enroll in courses.
While, faculty believe they will be hurt financially by distance learning, and financial
considerations are very important to them, at the current time, their enthusiasm for
offering an education to more students outweighs these concerns.
The picture of distance learning presented in this report is representative of distance
learning as it is occurring at traditional public twoyear and fouryear colleges and
universities with NEA members. These distance learning courses are taught by fulltime
faculty to relatively small classes of students using technologies that are highly interactive.
The results presented here, including the positive ratings and high course completion rates,
may not apply to distance learning courses at other types of institutions
The Growth Of Distance Learning Courses
Currently, one in 10 higher education NEA members teaches a distance learning
course. Furthermore, 90% of NEA members who teach traditional courses tell us that
distance learning courses are offered or being considered at their institution. Because
increasing numbers of colleges and universities–and more NEA members–are offering
distance learning courses, NEA commissioned this study. The conclusions are intended to
help NEA shape policies for distance learning courses so that students receive a good
education and distance learning faculty receive fair treatment.
Distance Learning Faculty: What Do They Look Like?
Distance learning NEA members and NEA members who teach traditional courses
have similar demographic profiles, largely because distance learning faculty spend
most of their time teaching traditional courses.
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n
Distance learning NEA members resemble traditional faculty in that
they are full time (89%), tenured (73%), split evenly between full
professors (35%) and lecturers and adjuncts (35%), hold masters'
degrees (48%) rather than a Ph.D. (31%).
§
These findings appear to dispel the notion that traditional faculty
are being replaced by parttime distance learning faculty who
offer one course, with the following caveat. Our survey only
includes distance learning faculty who are NEA members. Part
time faculty who teach a single distance learning course would
be less likely to be NEA members.
n
Both distance learning and traditional faculty are most likely to teach
at statewide institutions with multiple campuses (50%) rather than
district (23%) or single campus institutions (25%).
n
Distance learning courses are not concentrated in a few academic
fields. Distance learning and traditional courses are similarly
distributed across fields.
n
Distance learning and traditional faculty differ somewhat in that
distance learning faculty are more likely to teach at a community
college (distance learning faculty=68%, traditional faculty = 54%),
and slightly less likely to be over the age of 55 (df=25 %, tf=34%).
Distance Learning Technology: Communicating With Students
We see two basic types of distance learning courses: Webbased courses (44%) and
those relying primarily on video technologies (54%)
n
Forty percent (40%) of faculty teaching a Webbased course hold a
very positive view, compared to only 25% of those whose distance
learning course is not a Webbased course.
n
Virtually all of the faculty teaching distance learning courses use an
interactive technology to teach their courses.
§
Only 2% of faculty tell us that their distance learning course
relies exclusively on oneway prerecorded videos.
n
Email is the dominant means of communication employed by
faculty and students outside of the normal instruction time.
Similarities
between distance
learning and
traditional faculty
Differences
between distance
learning and
traditional faculty
DL is defined as
courses with more
than half of the
instruction taking
place when
students and
faculty are in
different locations
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§
Eightythree percent (83%) of faculty teaching Webbased
courses use email to communicate with a typical student in their
class once a week or more.
§
Almost half (42%) of faculty teaching courses that are not Web
based use email to communicate with a typical student once a
week or more.
n
A significant proportion of distance learning faculty never see their
students in a facetoface setting.
§
Only 30% of Webbased faculty and 19% of faculty whose
distance learning course is not Webbased see their students
once a week or more.
n
Almost all distance learning faculty (96%) have some type of one
onone interaction with their students
—either through email,
telephone, chat rooms, threaded discussion groups, or a facetoface
meeting. Faculty teaching courses with more student interaction are
also more likely than their counterparts with less student interaction
to hold an overall more positive attitude toward their distance
course. Faculty with frequent student interaction also give their
distance learning course higher ratings on meeting the goals NEA
has determined are essential to a quality education.
Developing The Course: Institutional Support, Faculty Rights, And
Compensation
n
Threefourths (76%) of distance learning faculty rate the technical
support, library, and laboratory facilities for their course as excellent
or good.
§
Technical support is significantly more important to overall
feelings about distance learning than attributes related to the type
of institution or the type of student in the course.
n
The majority of distance learning faculty (70%) report that
workshops and training sessions on teaching distance learning
courses are available to them on a regular basis, and a similar
majority of faculty have participated in a training session
§
When policy regarding distance learning is included in the
collective bargaining agreement, the institution is significantly
DL courses with
frequent faculty
student interaction
are more
successful
Faculty with
technical support
give their DL
courses better
ratings
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more likely to offer distance learning training courses on a
regular basis.
n
In considering whether they are the content designer or the manager
of information in their courses, 37% say the designer of content,
20% say the manager of information, and 41% say both.
n
Over half (53%) of distance learning faculty spend more hours per
week preparing and delivering their distance learning course than
they do for a comparable traditional course, compared to only 22%
who spend fewer hours.
§
Even those faculty who have taught their distance learning
course eight times or more spend more hours (48%) rather than
fewer hours (21%) on their distance learning course.
n
In spite of spending more hours on their distance learning course,
most (84%) of faculty get no course reduction, and 63% of distance
learning faculty are compensated for their distance learning course
as if it were part of their normal course load.
§
Seventythree percent (73%) of Webbased distance learning
faculty are compensated as part of their normal course load.
Distance Learning Students: What Do They Look Like?
n
In contrast to stereotypes of distance learning students as older, part
time students, NEA faculty teach as many younger students as older
students and as many fulltime students as parttime students.
§
The largest percentage of courses (38%) have an equal mix of
students over and under 25 years of age. The remainder are
evenly divided between mostly under 25 years of age (27%) and
above 25 years of age (27%).
n
Since the largest percentage of NEA members teach in
undergraduate institutions (78% of distance faculty, 70% of
traditional faculty), we also find that distance learning courses are
primarily undergraduate courses (82%) rather than graduate courses
(16%), and most of the courses fulfill a requirement (70%) rather
than being offered as an elective (20%).
Faculty spend
more time on their
DL course, with no
course reduction
and no additional
compensation
Distance learning
students at
traditional, public
higher education
institutions do not
fit the stereotype
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n
Twothirds of faculty report that their distance learning course has a
limit on the maximum number of students who can enroll. Faculty
teaching courses with enrollment limits
—regardless of whether the limit
is high or low
—hold more positive feelings about distance learning.
n
Also in contrast with stereotypes, we find that the distance learning
classes that NEA members teach are not large, most of the classes
are entirely composed of students taking the course for credit and
students are nearby.
§
Twothirds of distance learning faculty teach a course with 40 or
fewer students. Only 6 respondents teach a course with over 200
students. Class size is not related to ratings of distance learning
courses among courses with under 100 students. We cannot
comment on what happens in very large courses.
§
A majority of the distance learning faculty (56%) report that
most of their distance learning students live within one hour of
campus, and another third (32%) report that their distance
learning students live mostly in the state but more than an hour's
drive away. Only 4% of the distance learning faculty report that
most of their distance learning students are from out of state.
§
The largest percentage of faculty (63%) report that most distance
learning students are enrolled on another campus of the same
institution offering the course. Relatively few (19%) report that
most students are enrolled at another institution.
The Potential And The Concerns: What Faculty Think About Distance
Learning
n
Among distance learning faculty, 72% hold positive feelings,
compared to only 14% who hold negative feelings.
n
Traditional faculty are somewhat less positive–51% hold positive
feelings toward distance learning courses, compared to 22% who
hold negative feelings. A significant proportion (28%) of traditional
faculty remain undecided and are waiting to see the implications of
these courses for students, their institution and themselves.
n
Faculty who teach Webbased courses have more positive opinions
about distance learning courses. Correlations that exist between
Faculty hold
positive opinions
toward distance
learning courses
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faculty opinions about distance learning and most other factors are
greatly reduced when we control for whether the course is a Web
based course or a course that is not dependent upon computer
technology.
n
Faculty evaluate distance learning primarily on quality of education
considerations and secondarily on more traditional union
considerations. In particular, faculty believe that distance learning
courses reach students who would not otherwise take a course and
allow smaller institutions to offer a richer curriculum.
n
Considering the list of 10 possible negative outcomes of distance
learning, faculty tell us that three outcomes would concern them the
most, if they did in fact occur. Two of these most important
outcomes relate to traditional union concerns and faculty think they
are
very likely
to occur:
§
Faculty will do more work for the same amount of pay;
§
Faculty will not be fairly compensated for their intellectual
property.
n
Faculty think the other most important possible outcome is
unlikely
to occur:
§
The quality of education would decline.
n
At the current time, faculty believe they will be hurt financially by
distance learning, and financial considerations are very important to
them. However, the prospect of being able to offer an education to
students who could not otherwise enroll in a course outweighs these
concerns.
n
Traditional and distance learning faculty rank the following concerns
as not likely to occur, and somewhat less important to them, even if
they do occur:
§
Fewer jobs;
§
Decline in the quality of faculty;
§
Less candidness in the classroom.
Regressions
indicate that DL
shortcomings are
outweighed by the
possibility of
educating more
students
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n
When we separate Webbased courses from notWebbased courses,
we find that faculty teaching Webbased courses give their distance
learning courses a better rating than their traditional courses on
meeting these five goals:
§
Giving the students access to information;
§
Providing students with high quality course material;
§
Helping students master the subject matter;
§
Assessing the educational effectiveness of the course;
§
Addressing the variety of student learning styles.
n
Faculty teaching Webbased courses give their distance learning
course the same rating as their traditional course on meeting the first
two of the following goals and a worse rating on the last three goals:
§
Improving quantitative skills;
§
Developing student interactivity;
§
Strengthening students' group problemsolving skills;
§
Improving verbal skills;
§
Helping students deliver better oral presentations.
Webbased courses
fare better against
traditional courses
than courses not
based on the Web
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The Report
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Introduction
Purpose
. In increasing numbers, colleges and universities–and more NEA members–
are offering distance learning courses. Currently, one in 10 higher education NEA members
teach a distance learning course. Furthermore, 90% of NEA members who teach traditional
courses tell us that distance learning courses are offered or being considered at their
institution. In light of how this trend has accelerated in just the last few years, this study
meets two goals. First, it offers descriptive information about distance learning courses and
the faculty who teach them. Second, it explores opinions about distance learning held by
faculty teaching distance learning courses and by faculty teaching traditional courses. The
conclusions are intended to help NEA shape policies for distance learning courses so that
students receive a good education and distance learning faculty receive fair treatment.
Methodological overview.
Interviews were completed with 402 distance learning
faculty and 130 traditional faculty between February 11 and March 6, 2000. A respondent
was considered a distance learning faculty member if he or she had taught a distance learning
course in the last five years, including this year. A distance learning course is defined as one
in which more than half of the instruction takes place when faculty and students are at
different locations and the instruction is delivered through audio, video or computer
technologies. Correspondence courses and traditional courses with a smaller distance
learning component are not considered distance learning courses. We estimate that about one
in 10 NEA higher education members, or about 5,000 NEA members, have taught a distance
learning course in the last five years.
It is important to remember that the picture of distance learning presented in this report
applies to NEA faculty members, and it may not be representative of what is happening at
institutions not represented by NEA. NEA members teach mostly at traditional, public two
and four year colleges and universities with graduate students. Very few teach extension
courses or at online universities. However, in order to simplify the text, we simply refer to
"distance learning faculty" (instead of "distance learning faculty who are NEA members") and
"traditional faculty" (instead of "traditional faculty who are NEA members") .
Distance Learning Faculty: Who Are They?
Distance learning faculty spend most of their time teaching traditional courses, which
partly explains why distance learning NEA members and NEA members who teach traditional
courses have similar demographic profiles. The vast majorities of both faculties are fulltime
teachers (distance learning faculty =89%, traditional faculty=85%), and for most distance
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learning faculty (75%), distance learning courses account for less than a quarter of their
course load each year (Figure 1). (Distance learning faculty and traditional faculty will be
abbreviated as "df" and "tf", respectively, in many places in the report.) Half (47%) of
distance learning faculty have taught only one distance learning course title in the last five
years, but they teach their one course repeatedly (Figure 2). These distance learning courses
have developed from traditional courses (Figure 3). About half of the time the distance
learning component is an addition to the traditional course; and about half of the time the
distance learning component replaces all or part of the traditional course.
At first glance, these findings appear to dispel the notion that traditional faculty are
being replaced by parttime distance learning faculty who offer one course. However, we
caution against rushing to this judgement. Our survey only includes distance learning faculty
who are NEA members. Parttime faculty who teach a single distance learning course would
be less integrated into the college or university community, less likely to join NEA, and,
perhaps, less likely to be at a university or college with unionized faculty.
NEA & Abacus Associates
Distance Learning Faculty Are FullTime Faculty,
And Teach Mostly Traditional Courses
Figure 1
Remainder "Not Sure"
74%
17%
5%
2%
47%
24%
13%
8%
9%
Less than 25%
25% to <50%
50% to <75%
75% +
One course title
Two courses
Three courses
Four, five courses
Five+ courses
Q7 Distance learning courses as proportion of faculty course load
Q1 Number of distance courses with different titles taught in 5 years
89% of distance learning faculty and 85% of traditional faculty are fulltime.
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NEA & Abacus Associates
Distance Learning Faculty Teach Their Distance Learning
Course Repeatedly
Figure 2
For "most often" taught course. Remainder "Not Sure"
20%
15%
15%
11%
12%
27%
Taught course once
Twice
Three times
Four times
Five to seven times
Eight or more times
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q23 DL Course Was Previously Taught As Trad Course;
Q24 DL Can Supplement Or Replace Parts Of Trad Course
Figure 3
86%
14%
47%
48%
5%
Q23
Q24
Traditional
course first
Dist learning
course first
Replacement of all or part
of trad course
Addition to trad
course
Not Sure
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Although these distance learning faculty teach mostly traditional courses, the distance
learning courses they do teach are, by definition, genuinely distance learning courses where
half or more of the instruction takes place when the instructor and students are in different
locations. Therefore, the similarity in the profiles of distance learning faculty and traditional
learning faculty is unexpected. Their tenure status is the same, with twothirds being tenured
(df=73%, tf=68%), and relatively fewer being tenure track but not yet tenured (df=10%,
tf=11%), nontenured track with an expectation of continual renewal (df=11%, tf=12%), and
terminal contracts (df=6%, tf=9%, Figure 4) Distance learning faculty are as likely as
traditional faculty to be full professors (35% for both), associate faculty (14% for both),
assistant professors (df=7%, tf=5%), and lecturers, instructors, adjuncts or visiting professors
(35% for both). The two groups of faculty also have similar education profiles. The largest
percentage of NEA distance learning and traditional faculty members have a master's degree
(df=48%, tf=51%), and somewhat fewer have a Ph.D. or Ed.D (df=31%, tf=28%). These
similarities suggest that senior faculty are as likely to retool for teaching distance learning
courses as recent graduates who are just joining the faculty.
NEA & Abacus Associates
Dist. Lrn. Faculty Are Tenured And Split Evenly Between
Full Professor & Lecturer Status (DL Fac Mirror Trad Fac)
Figure 4
Remainder "Not Sure"
73%
10%
11%
6%
35%
14%
8%
36%
7%
68%
11%
12%
9%
37%
14%
6%
36%
7%
Tenured
Tenure track
Contract renewal
Terminal contract
Full professor
Associate prof.
Ass't prof.
Lecturer
No rank
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Trad. Faculty
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Distance learning faculty and traditional faculty teach courses in the same academic
fields, which counters some expectations that distance learning courses are emerging
disproportionately in selected areas of study. Traditional faculty were not asked this long
question in the current survey, but a similar question was asked of all NEA faculty in 1998.
The question asked in 1998 offered fewer response categories and therefore invited more
volunteered responses than the question asked of distance learning faculty in 2000. Also the
1998 results are for
all
faculty, which would include the few distance learning faculty. With
these caveats in mind, the similarities between distance learning faculty and all faculty is
striking (Figure 5). All NEA faculty are slightly more likely to teach the humanities (13%)
than distance learning faculty (7%), but even that small difference may not be so large. In
2000, 4% of distance learning faculty chose the field of "communications," whereas
respondents in 1998 were not given that response option and would have placed themselves in
the humanities, social sciences, or "other" category. For all the other discipline categories, the
difference between distance learning and all faculty is within 3%.
NEA & Abacus Associates
Distance Learning Faculty And Traditional Faculty Teach
In Same Fields
Figure 5
Remainder "Not Sure"
20%
15%
12%
10%
11%
4%
7%
4%
4%
1%
13%
19%
13%
9%
9%
11%
7%
13%
4%
3%
11%
Math, Science
Social Science
Business/Management
Health Sciences
English/Foreign Lang
Education
Humanities
Communications
Engineering
Arts
Other
Distance (2000)
Traditional (1998)
NA 1998
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Both distance learning and traditional faculty come from similar institutional
arrangements, with about half (df=50%, tf=52%) in an institution that is part of a statewide
system with multiple campuses. The proportion of the remaining faculty are split between an
institution in a district system with three or more campuses (df=23%, tf=21%) and an
institution that is primarily one campus (df=25%, tf=22%). The community where the college
is located is also no different for distance learning faculty than traditional faculty. The same
proportion work in cities (df=49%, tf=48%), suburbs (df=16%, tf=18%), and small towns
(df=35%, tf=32%).
A few small differences between distance learning faculty and traditional faculty are
worth noting. Distance learning faculty are more likely to work at a community college
(68%) than traditional faculty (54%) (Figure 6), and they are slightly more likely than
traditional faculty to work at an institution with more than 10,000 students (df=36%, tf=27%).
(Figure 7)
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q2 Distance Learning Faculty Are Slightly More Likely
To Teach At Community Colleges
Figure 6
Remainder "Not Sure"
68%
9%
10%
13%
54%
12%
16%
18%
Comm. College
Voc/Tech Coll
Fouryear College
Univ w/Grad Prog
Dist Lrn Faculty
Trad. Faculty
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NEA & Abacus Associates
Q52 Distance Learning Faculty Are Slightly More Likely
To Work At Larger Institutions
Figure 7
Remainder "Not Sure"
24%
21%
19%
36%
21%
25%
25%
27%
Under 2,500 students
2,500 to 4,999
5,000 to 9,999
10,000+ students
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Trad. Faculty
NEA & Abacus Associates
NEA Distance Learning Faculty Are Slightly Younger
Figure 8
Remainder "Not Sure"
28%
23%
24%
25%
25%
18%
22%
34%
1745 yrs old
4650 yrs old
5155 yrs old
56+ yrs old
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Trad. Faculty
DL and trad. faculty are equally likely to be full professors, but within the full
professor rank, DL faculty are slightly younger and newer to the institution.
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It is unlikely that the small size of the traditional faculty sample is responsible for the
above differences in the institutions of distance learning and traditional faculty. Traditional
faculty in the current study resemble the sample of 506 NEA faculty interviewed in 1998 in
that similar percentages of faculty in both surveys work in a community college (1998=53%,
1999=54%) and fouryear colleges (1998=16%, 2000=16%). Slightly more of the 2000
faculty work at vocational or technical colleges (1998=8%, 2000=12%) and slightly fewer
work in universities with graduate programs (1998=23%, 2000=18%), but the differences are
well with in expected margins of error.
Finally, distance learning faculty are younger, with more under 50 years of age
(df=51%, tf=44%) and few over the age of 55 (df=25%, tf=34% Figure 8 ). They are
somewhat newer to their institution, with slightly less years of teaching behind them than
traditional faculty (Figure 9). These differences in age and length of time at the institution are
consistent with the fact that distance learning faculty and traditional faculty are equally likely
to be full professors, because within the full professor rank, distance learning faculty are
slightly younger and newer to the institution. In spite of being somewhat younger and less
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q42 Distance Faculty Have Slightly Fewer Years At Their
Current Institution
Figure 9
Remainder "Not Sure"
28%
36%
15%
20%
26%
31%
20%
23%
<10 years
1019 years
2024 years
25+ years
Distance Faculty
Traditional Faculty
DL and trad. faculty are equally likely to be full professors, but within the full
professor rank, DL faculty are slightly younger and newer to the institution.
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experienced, distance learning faculty are less likely to have the lowest salaries (under
$40,000) and more likely to have average salaries ($40,000$49,000, Figure 10).
NEA Members Hold Positive Opinions Of Distance Learning
At the current time, both distance learning and traditional faculty hold positive
opinions toward distance learning courses. Among distance learning faculty, 72% hold
positive feelings, compared to only 14% who hold negative feelings (Figure 11). Traditional
faculty are somewhat less positive–51% hold positive feelings toward distance learning
courses, compared to 22% who hold negative feelings. A significant proportion (28%) of
traditional faculty remain neutral or undecided and are waiting to see the implications of these
courses for students, their institution and themselves.
After asking distance learning faculty for their general opinion about distance learning,
we ask them a series of questions about the specific distance learning course that they teach
the most often. In the next section of the report, we describe distance learning courses: (1)
NEA & Abacus Associates
Distance Faculty Are Less Likely To Have The Lowest
Salaries; More Likely To Have Average Salaries
Figure 10
Remainder "Not Sure"
20%
23%
21%
16%
20%
27%
17%
21%
16%
20%
<$40K
$4049K
$5059K
$6069K
$70K +
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Trad. Faculty
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the technology which is used to teach and communicate with students; (2) the role of the
faculty member and the institution in the development of the course; (3) the students who
choose to enroll in a distance learning course.
We also relate overall faculty feelings toward distance learning to differences in
distance learning courses to begin to identify the conditions under which faculty believe
distance learning works
—works well for them and/or their students. Multivariate regressions
indicate that of all the ways that distance learning courses can differ (type of technology used,
type of institution, type of student, etc.) the most important factor is whether the course is
primarily a Webbased course, as opposed to a course that relies primarily on a variety of
video arrangements.
Faculty who teach Webbased courses have more positive opinions
about distance learning courses.
Correlations that exist between faculty opinions about
distance learning and most other factors are greatly reduced when we control for whether the
course is a Webbased course or a course that is not dependent upon computer technology
.
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q3 NEA Members Hold Positive Opinions Of
Distance Learning
Figure 11
Remainder "Not Sure"
6%
12.5%
11%
14%
3%
8%
6%
12.5%
40%
34%
32%
17%
Distance
Faculty
Traditional
Faculty
12%
25%
Very neg
Neutral
Smwht pos
Very pos
Smwht neg
Neutral
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Distance Learning Courses: What They Look Like
Communicating With Students In Distance Learning Courses
Distance learning courses are usually divided into two generic categories: synchronous
and asynchronous. Synchronous courses require that all students work at the same time, while
in different locations. Asynchronous courses allow students to work on their own schedule.
Synchronous courses are more likely to rely on video technology while asynchronous courses
are more likely to rely on computer technology. Another related distinction between distance
learning courses is whether or not the course is primarily a Webbased course. Fortyfour
percent (44%) of distance learning faculty tell us their course is primarily Webbased. Web
based courses rely heavily on chat rooms and threaded discussion groups, but a fourth of the
Webbased faculty also report using various types of videos (Figure 12). While we are likely
to see more video content in Webbased courses as the faster transmissions of cable modems
become more common, at the current time Webbased courses do not make extensive use of
videos. On the other hand, courses that are notWebbased rely primarily on a combination of
twoway interactive videos and oneway prerecorded videos. The distinction between the
NEA & Abacus Associates
We See Two Types Of Distance Learning Courses:
WebBased And NotWebBased
Figure 12
Remainder "Not Sure"
44%
26%
28%
28%
62%
62%
58%
32%
48%
15%
22%
54%
72%
71%
71%
38%
35%
42%
65%
51%
84%
73%
Online webbased course
a. Twoway interactive video
b. Oneway live video
c. Oneway prerecorded video
d. Chat rooms
e. Threaded discussion groups
a. Twoway interactive video
b. Oneway live video
c. Oneway prerecorded video
d. Chat rooms
e. Threaded discussion groups
Yes
No
Techniques used in webbased course
Techniques used in courses notwebbased
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two types of distance learning courses is almost clear enough to refer to courses as Webbased
and videobased courses. However, the use of technologies overlap just enough that we have
chosen to refer to the two types of distance learning as Webbased and notWebbased.
Virtually all of the faculty teaching distance learning courses, as defined where more
than half of the instruction takes place when students and faculty are in different locations, use
an interactive technology to teach their courses. The least interactive of the technologies is
the oneway prerecorded video. Only 2% of faculty tell us that their distance learning course
relies exclusively on oneway prerecorded videos.
Email is the dominate means of communication employed by faculty and students
outside of the normal instruction time
—both in Webbased courses and in notWebbased
courses. Indeed, there is a tremendous amount of facultystudent contact via email
(Figure 13). Eightythree percent (83%) of faculty teaching Webbased courses use email to
communicate with a typical student in their class once a week or more. Almost half (42%) of
faculty teaching notWebbased courses use email to communicate with a typical student
once a week or more.
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q29 Email Most Often Used For Personal Interaction
With D.L. Student Outside Of Normal Instruction Time
Figure 13
Remainder "Not Sure"
61%
19%
11%
29%
23%
15%
12%
7%
22%
19%
15%
19%
19%
16%
13%
6%
11%
19%
12%
9%
15%
26%
18%
4%
1%
26%
29%
6%
13%
23%
34%
3%
3%
15%
30%
35%
26%
15%
19%
75%
Email
Telephone
Facetoface
Chat rooms
Email
Telephone
Facetoface
Chat rooms
More than 1x/wk
1x/wk
2x/mo
12x/term
Never
Webbased course
NotWebbased course
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In addition to contact through new technologies, most faculty (about 85%) in both
Webbased and notWebbased courses talk with their students at least once during the
semester on the telephone, while about half of faculty in both types of courses talk on the
telephone with their students at least twice a month.
However, these courses are genuinely distance learning courses, in that facetoface
contact with students is rare. A significant proportion of the faculty teaching them never see
their students (30% of Webbased faculty and 19% of notWebbased faculty) and only a
fourth of faculty teaching both types of courses see their students once a week or more.
While facetoface contact is not frequent, virtually all faculty (96%) have some type
of oneonone interaction with their students through one of these means, and for the most
part, these interactions are frequent. Correlations indicate that faculty teaching courses with
more student interaction are more likely than their counterparts with less student interaction to
hold an overall more positive toward their distance course. Faculty with frequent student
interaction also give their distance learning course higher ratings on meeting the goals NEA
has determined are essential to a quality education. In terms of these benchmarks, distance
learning courses with more interaction are more successful.
Smaller institutions (enrollment under 2,500) and institutions in small towns are
somewhat less likely to offer Webbased courses, and more likely to offer courses that use
twoway interactive videos than are the larger institutions and those in suburban communities
and cities. We offer two possible explanations for this relationship. Perhaps smaller
institutions and institutions in small towns were among the first to experiment with distance
learning in order to expand their offerings, and therefore adopted earlier video technologies.
Also, easy access to the Internet may be a more recent phenomenon at smaller institutions and
in these less populated areas.
Except for the two differences noted above, Webbased and notWebbased courses
are taught by similar faculty members, at similar places. The distance learning courses taught
by lecturers and full professors, tenured and nottenured faculty, men and women, and faculty
in different fields are equally likely to rely mostly on the Web. Distance learning courses
taught by younger faculty (under 51 years) are only slightly more likely to rely on the Web
(47%) than those taught by their older colleagues (39%). Similarly, distance learning faculty
who have been at their institution for less than 10 years are only somewhat more likely to be
teaching Webbased distance learning (52%) than distance learning faculty who have been at
their institution 25 years of more (42%). Distance learning faculty at statewide institutions,
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district systems, singlecampus institutions, community colleges and fouryear colleges and
universities are also about equally likely to teach a distance learning course based on the Web.
The most important factor differentiating faculty who are most positive about
distance learning from those who are somewhat less positive is whether the faculty member
teaches a Webbased course. Among faculty teaching a Webbased course, 40% hold a
very positive view, compared to only 25% whose distance learning course is not a Web
based course (Figure 14). This relationship remains important even when combined in
multiple regressions with other correlates of teaching a Webbased course.
Developing The Course
The majority of distance learning faculty (70%) report that workshops and training
sessions on teaching distance learning courses are available to them on a regular basis, and
they have participated in a training session (Figure 15). Training is more likely to be available
for those teaching Webbased courses (80% say it is available) than those teaching notWeb
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q3 Faculty Teaching WebBased Courses Have Most
Positive Feelings
Figure 14
Remainder "Not Sure"
6%
6%
7%
15%
2%
4%
6%
6%
38%
42%
40%
25%
WebBased
Course
NotWebBased
Course
12%
12%
Very neg
Neutral
Smwht pos
Very pos
Smwht neg
Neutral
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based courses (61% say it is available). Because institutions in small towns and with small
enrollments have more notWebbased courses and less Webbased courses, faculty at these
places have less training available to them. Similarly faculty teaching Webbased courses are
more likely to participate in a training workshop. Beyond this difference, faculty are about
equally likely to participate in a training workshop, regardless of their field, experience, age,
and title.
Another important relationship emerges that demonstrates the unions' efforts to
improve distance learning courses (Figure 16). When distance learning policy is included
in the collective bargaining agreement, the institution is significantly more likely to offer
distance learning training courses on a regular basis than when it is not included in the
agreement.
Seventyfive percent (75%) of faculty at institutions where distance learning
policy is bargained tell us training is available, compared to only 61% of faculty at institutions
where distance learning is not bargained.
NEA & Abacus Associates
A Large Majority Of Distance Learning Professors
Participate In Distance Learning Training
Figure 15
70%
26%
4%
69%
30%
Q9 Regular trainings available
Yes
No
Not
sure
Q8 Participate in training
Yes
No
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NEA & Abacus Associates
Distance Learning Training Is More Available When
Distance Learning Policy Is Bargained
Figure 16
75%
22%
3%
61%
34%
5%
Availability of training when
Dist. L. policy is bargained
Yes
No
Not
sure
Availability of training when
Dist. L. policy is not bargained
Yes
No
NEA & Abacus Associates
Satisfaction With Technical Support And Facilities For
Distance Learning Is High
Figure 17
Remainder "Not Sure"
32%
30%
45%
46%
12%
10%
9%
4%
2%
9%
Tech support (Q36)
Library/Labs (Q37)
Excellent
Good
Not so good
Poor
None
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Distance learning faculty give higher ratings to the level of technical support, library
and laboratory facilities than expected (Figure 17). Threefourths of distance learning faculty
rate the support and facilities as excellent or good. Whether or not faculty members have
positive feelings about distance learning is related to whether they are satisfied with the
training available to them, the level of technical support, and the quality of library and
laboratory facilities. Webbased courses have the edge in all of these areas, which is part of
the reason why faculty who teach Webbased courses are more positive toward distance
learning than those who teach notWebbased courses.
However, even controlling for
whether the course is Webbased or notWebbased, multiple regressions indicate that the
level of technical support is the most important determinant of overall feelings toward
distance learning.
More specifically, technical support is significantly more important to
overall feelings about distance learning than attributes related to the type of institution or the
type of student in the course.
Currently, most distance learning faculty see themselves as designers of course
content, and not simply as managers of information. In considering whether they are more the
content designer or the manager of information in the courses, 37% say the designer of
content, 20% say the manager of information, and 41% say both (Figure 18). However,
NEA & Abacus Associates
Most D.L. Faculty Design The Content And Most Manage
The Information For Their Course
Figure 18
Remainder "Not Sure" or "Neither"
37%
20%
41%
35%
21%
24%
20%
18%
26%
73%
20%
Manager of
information
Designer of
content
Both manager
and designer
Dev. content/
DK rights
Dev. content/
no rights
No prof
assistance
Had prof
assistance
Used
prepkg
Q19 Role in Dist Lrn Course
Source and Rights
Q21 Assistance
Dev. content/
has rights
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distance learning is still very new. The proportion of faculty who see themselves as designers
of content may change as more and more courses are designed and the original designers
retire or move on. Of the 78% of the professors who say they design the content of the
courses, the largest percentage (80%) develop original course content and only 18% use
mostly prepackaged materials. Of those who develop original course content (247
respondents), less than onethird (30%) say they own the property rights to the materials they
create, and 44% say they do not. Onequarter (26%) do not know if they own the property
rights or not. Finally, of the 78% of the respondents who are designers of content, one
quarter (26%) have professional assistance in choosing and developing materials.
Faculty who teach Webbased courses (rather than notWebbased courses) and
younger faculty are somewhat more likely to own the property rights to their material, but the
differences are not large (34% of Webbased faculty and 34% of faculty under 50 years of age
own the property rights to their material, compared to only 28% of those whose course is not
Webbased and 26% of those 51 years or older).
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q12 FourFifths Of Distance Learning Courses Are
Approved Through Traditional Curriculum Review Process
Figure 19
80%
15%
5%
Same review process
Not the same review process
Not sure
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Most distance learning courses (80%) are approved through the normal curriculum
review process (Figure 19). To the extent that this implies distance learning courses and
faculty are given the same status as other courses, this high percentage is probably a positive
fact. We cannot assess whether distance learning courses differ in ways that would require a
different provisions to the review process.
Characterizing The Student Body
Since the largest percentage of NEA members teach in undergraduate institutions
(78% of distance faculty, 70% of traditional faculty), we also find that distance learning
courses are primarily undergraduate courses (82%) rather than graduate courses (16%), and
most of the courses fulfill a requirement (70%) rather than being offered as an elective (20%
Figure 20) At first glance, it may appear that faculty who teach mostly graduate students hold
slightly more positive feelings toward distance learning than those who teach undergraduates.
However, multiple regressions indicate that this relationship disappears when we control for
other factors such as whether the course is a Webbased course or not, and whether the
technical support, libraries and laboratory facilities are good. Also, since the percentage of
NEA faculty members who teach distance learning to graduate students is small, we are
reluctant to suggest that faculty feelings about distance learning are related to the level of the
course.
NEA & Abacus Associates
NEA Distance Learning Faculty Teach Mostly
Undergraduate Courses That Fulfill Requirements
Figure 20
Remainder "Not Sure"
70%
20%
10%
82%
16%
2%
Fulfill requirement
Elective
Depends
Undergraduate
Graduate
Other
Q15 Purpose of course
Q16 Level of course
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The age of students in distance learning courses varies considerably. The largest
percentage of courses (38%) have an equal mix of students over and under 25 years of age.
The remainder are evenly divided between mostly under 25 years of age (27%) and above 25
years of age (27%, Figure 21). Distance learning courses are similarly diverse with respect to
whether students are enrolled as fulltime or parttime students. Similar proportions of faculty
report teaching courses that have only a few fulltime students (23% of courses have less than
25% fulltime students) compared to those with mostly fulltime students (29% of courses
have more than 75% fulltime students). In contrast to stereotypes of distance learning
students as older, parttime students, NEA faculty teach as many younger students as older
students and as many fulltime students as parttime students
§
Faculty whose distance learning course is primarily for students over 25 years of age are
somewhat less likely to hold negative opinions about distance learning (74% positive,
9% negative, 17% not sure). Faculty whose distance learning course is for a mix of
students or primarily for students under 25 years of age are somewhat more likely to hold
negative opinions (71% positive, 16% negative, 13% not sure), but the differences are
NEA & Abacus Associates
Countering Expectations, DL Members Are Equally Likely
To Teach Younger & Older, FullTime & PartTime Students
Figure 21
Remainder "Not Sure"
27%
38%
27%
23%
19%
20%
22%
7%
Under 25 years of age
Equal mix
Over 25 years of age
Less than 25%
25% to less than 50%
50% to less than 75%
75% to less that 100%
100%
Faculty hold similarly positive opinions of distance learning, regardless of whether
they are teaching older or younger students, part time or fulltime students.
Q17 Age of students in course
Q18 Percent fulltime students in course
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small and not significant. Also, faculty teaching older students are more likely to be
using a Webbased technology. Consequently, the slightly more positive feelings about
distance learning from faculty teaching older students may well be more dependent on
feelings toward the technology than toward the students.
§
Faculty who teach mostly fulltime students and those who teach mostly parttime
students hold similarly positive opinions about distance learning.
Also in contrast with stereotypes, we find that distance learning classes are not
large, most of the classes are entirely composed of students taking the course for credit,
completion rates are high, and students are nearby.
Twothirds of faculty report that their distance learning course has a limit on the
maximum number of students who can enroll. We also know that faculty teaching courses
with enrollment limits are much more likely to have attended a training workshop (Figure 22).
Either faculty who have had training impose a enrollment on their courses, or the institutions,
which care enough about the quality of the distance learning course to encourage faculty to
take a training workshop, impose limits on the course size. Whatever the cause of the
relationship, faculty teaching courses with enrollment limits have somewhat more positive
feelings about distance learning courses, even when controlling for whether or not they have
taken a workshop.
NEA & Abacus Associates
Most Dist. L. Courses Have Enrollment Limits; Faculty With
Courses With Limits Are More Positive Toward Dist.L.
Figure 22
Remainder "Not Sure"
67%
70%
66%
72%
57%
All distance faculty
Dist. L is bargained
Dist. L is not bargained
Faculty had training
No training
The conditions under which distance learning faculty report an enrollment limit
for their course:
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Most distance learning courses are small in size. Twothirds of distance learning
faculty teach a course with 40 or fewer students (Figure 23). Only 6 respondents teach a
distance learning course with over 200 students. However, contrary to expectations, courses
with enrollment limits are not smaller than those without enrollment limits. It may be that
different class sizes are appropriate for different courses, in which case some enrollment
limits would be high and others would be low.
Furthermore, we find it interesting that the number of students in the faculty member's
course is not related to his or her overall feelings about distance learning; this we note is in
direct contrast to the above discussion in which we observed that having an enrollment limit is
related to more positive feelings about distance learning. Again, it is possible that the ability
to limit the size of the course to whatever the faculty member deems appropriate is more
important than simply having smaller classes. The ability to limit the size of the class could
also be a surrogate for faculty having more control over the course in general, which then
leads to a faculty member having more positive feelings about the distance learning
experience. Also, class size may be unrelated to ratings of distance learning courses because
nearly all courses in this study have under 60 students and a tremendous amount of interaction
between faculty and students. Class sizes of over 100 students may in fact impact the quality
of the learning experience.
NEA & Abacus Associates
Most Distance Learning Classes Are Not Large, And Most
Students Take The DL Course For Credit
Figure 23
31%
33%
17%
19%
69%
18%
13%
Q32
Q33
2140
students
Not sure
41700
students
120
students
Some
noncredit
students
All credit students
90%+
8090%
Total Students in Class
Proportion
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Twothirds of faculty report that 100% of their students take the course for credit, and
only 13% report having some noncredit students in their classes (Figure 23, again). Even
when the course has some noncredit students, these students are clearly in the minority.
Finally, students in distance learning courses are not far away (Figure 24). A majority
of the distance learning faculty (56%) report that most of their distance learning students live
within one hour from campus, and another third (32%) report that most of their distance
learning students live in the state but more than an hour's drive away. Only 4% of the distance
learning faculty report that most of their distance learning students are from out of state. The
largest percentage of faculty (63%) report that most distance learning students are enrolled on
another campus of the same institution offering the course. Relatively few (19%) report that
most students are enrolled at another institution. Statewide institutions with multiple
campuses are more likely than other types of institutions to have students more than an hour
away, but the distance between students and the faculty members is not related to faculty
NEA & Abacus Associates
Most Students Are Not Far Away
Figure 24
63%
19%
18%
56%
32%
4%
7%
Q25 Campus of D.L. Students
Q26 Location of D.L. Students
Not sure
Different
Institution
In state but
1hr + away
Another campus/
same Institution
Out of state,
1hr+ away
Within 1 hr
Not sure
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feelings about distance learning nor is it related to how well distance learning courses do on
any of the goals of a quality education.
The Potential And The Concerns: What Faculty Think About
Distance Learning
Overview
We assess opinions of both traditional and distance learning faculty about the
advantages and disadvantages of distance learning course through four sets of questions: (1)
How likely is each of five possible positive outcomes of distance learning; (2) How important
each positive outcome is to them; (3) How likely is each of 10 positive concerns people have
expressed about distance learning; (4) How important is each concern to them, if that outcome
did in fact occur. In addition to presenting what members tell us is important to them, we also
indirectly investigate what drives their overall feelings about distance learning by looking at
the correlations between members' overall feelings about distance learning and how likely
they think each advantage and concern is.
Finally, we ask distance learning faculty to compare their distance learning course with
similar courses they have taught in a traditional classroom, to help us further determine what
faculty think are the potential for and pitfalls of distance learning. These scaled comparisons
between traditional and distance learning courses are also correlated with overall feelings
about distance learning to give further insight into the more specific opinions that drive
overall feelings toward distance learning.
In addition to contrasting faculty opinions on traditional and distance learning, we also
highlight differences in expectations and priorities for subgroups of distance learning
faculties. More subgroup information can be found in the Appendix.
The following conclusions emerge from the more detailed discussion below.
§
Faculty evaluate distance learning first on quality of education considerations and
secondarily on more traditional union considerations. In particular, faculty believe
that distance learning courses reach students who would not otherwise take a course
and allow smaller institutions to offer a richer curriculum.
§
Considering the list of 10 possible negative outcomes of distance learning, faculty tell
us that three outcomes would concern them the most, if they did in fact occur. Two of
these most important outcomes relate to traditional union concerns and faculty think
they are very likely to occur: faculty will do more work for the same amount of pay;
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faculty will not be fairly compensated for their intellectual property. The other most
important possible outcome is that the quality of education would decline. However,
faculty think this outcome is unlikely.
§
At the current time, faculty believe they will be hurt financially by distance learning,
and financial considerations are very important to them. However, the prospect of
being able to offer an education to students who could not otherwise enroll in a course
outweighs these concerns.
§
Traditional and distance learning faculty rank the following concerns as not likely to
occur, and somewhat less important to them, even if they do occur: fewer jobs,
decline in the quality of faculty; less candidness in the classroom.
§
Distance learning faculty (Webbased and notWebbased distance learning faculty
combined) believe that their traditional course does a better job of meeting most of the
goals NEA considers essential for a quality education. However, regressions indicate
that these shortcomings are outweighed by the potential distance learning offers for
educating students who otherwise would not take the course.
§
Faculty teaching a Webbased course give their distance learning course a better
rating than their traditional course on meeting five goals, the same rating on meeting
two goals, and a worse rating on meeting three goals.
Advantages Of Distance Learning Courses
A large percentage of both distance learning and traditional faculty tell us that it is
extremely or very likely that distance learning will reach many students who could not take
traditional college courses (df 70%; tf 55%, Figure 25). The second most likely advantage is
that smaller institutions will be able to offer a richer curriculum. Traditional faculty, distance
learning faculty, and all the subgroups of distance learning faculty tell us that these two
advantages are the most important advantages of distance learning (Figure 26). As expected,
distance learning faculty see the advantages as somewhat more important and more likely to
occur, but distance learning and traditional faculty rank the five advantages tested in the same
order of importance and likelihood of occurring.
The fact that beliefs about the likelihood of these two advantages are highly correlated
with overall feelings about distance learning is consistent with what faculty tell us directly.
Faculty have positive opinions about distance learning largely because the advantages that
they believe are most likely to occur are also deemed most important to them (Figure 27, 28).
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NEA & Abacus Associates
Q4a Likelihood Of Occurrence Of Advantages Of Distance
Learning (Ranked By Dist. Lrn. Faculty)
Figure 25
Remainder "Not Sure"
28%
20%
19%
14%
12%
6%
10%
5%
8%
5%
42%
35%
34%
28%
28%
17%
16%
12%
16%
28%
26%
35%
28%
33%
28%
38%
38%
36%
42%
35%
3%
6%
11%
10%
17%
24%
21%
27%
20%
15%
1%
1%
6%
9%
11%
10%
11%
15%
11%
12%
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Extremely
likely
Very
likely
Smwht
likely
Not
likely
Not at
all likely
a. Reach many students
e. Richer curriculum
b. Teachers as entrepreneurs
d. More class participation
c. Best teachers
Trad
Fac
Rank
1
2
4
5
3
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q4b Importance Of Each Possible Advantage
(Ranked By Dist. Lrn. Faculty)
Figure 26
Remainder "Not Sure"
36%
22%
26%
19%
20%
12%
19%
8%
13%
5%
40%
35%
37%
32%
37%
28%
26%
25%
17%
12%
19%
28%
24%
30%
24%
26%
32%
32%
28%
32%
3%
8%
7%
9%
11%
19%
13%
18%
25%
26%
2%
2%
4%
5%
6%
8%
6%
10%
15%
19%
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Extremely
important
Very
important
Smwht
import
Not too
import
Not at
all imp
a. Reach many students
e. Richer curriculum
b. Teachers as entrepreneurs
d. More class participation
c. Best teachers
Trad
Fac
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
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NEA & Abacus Associates
Advantages of Dist. Lrn: Reaching More Students Is
Important And Likely (Distance Learning Faculty)
Figure 27
,
,
,
,
,
2.5
2.7
2.9
3.1
3.3
3.5
3.7
3.9
4.1
2.6
2.8
3.0
3.2
3.4
3.6
3.8
4.0
Importance Of Advantage
Likelihood Of Advantage
More
likely
Less
likely
Less imp.
More imp.
Entrepreneur
Best Teachers
Active participation
Richer curriculum
Reach more
NEA & Abacus Associates
Advantages of Dist. Lrn: Reaching More Students Is
Important And Likely (Traditional Faculty)
Figure 28
,
,
,
,
,
2.5
2.7
2.9
3.1
3.3
3.5
3.7
3.9
4.1
2.6
2.8
3.0
3.2
3.4
3.6
3.8
4.0
Importance Of Advantage
Likelihood Of Advantage
More
likely
Less
likely
Less imp.
More imp.
Entrepreneur
Best Teachers
Active participation
Richer curriculum
Reach more
Abacus Associates
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Concerns About Distance Learning Courses
Concerns that are most likely to occur.
About twothirds of traditional and distance
learning faculty tell us it is extremely or very likely that in a distance learning course, faculty
will be responsible for more students, that there will be more work for the same amount of
pay, and that faculty will not be fairly compensated for their intellectual property (Figure 29).
Nearly half of traditional faculty (41%) also think it is extremely or very likely that students
will cheat, but the percentage of distance learning faculty expecting this outcome is less
(26%).
It is also instructive to compare which concerns traditional and distance faculty
consider not too likely or not at all likely to occur (Figure 30). A majority (51%) of distance
learning faculty think that it is unlikely that the quality of education will decline, 54% think it
is unlikely that faculty will have less control over their teaching or that the quality of
education will decline, and 60% of distance learning faculty think it is unlikely that there will
be fewer faculty jobs. Traditional faculty are less convinced that these concerns will not
materialize. Still, a plurality (43%) of traditional faculty think it is unlikely that faculty will
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q5a Likelihood Of Occurrence Of Concerns About Distance
Learning (More Likely Outcomes, Ranked By D.L. Faculty)
Figure 29
Remainder "Not Sure"
22%
20%
19%
18%
17%
14%
9%
18%
11%
15%
28%
39%
29%
32%
25%
28%
18%
22%
15%
26%
26%
21%
27%
23%
32%
31%
33%
31%
33%
38%
15%
11%
15%
10%
13%
12%
23%
13%
25%
12%
7%
3%
8%
7%
10%
3%
14%
10%
14%
2%
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Extremely
likely
Very
likely
Smwht
likely
Not too
likely
Not at
all likely
k. Responsible for more students
n. More work, same amount of pay
j. Faculty less candid in classroom
o. No intellectual property compensation
l. More students will cheat
Trad
Fac
Rank
1
2
4
5
3
Abacus Associates
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have less control over teaching, and 36% think it is unlikely that the quality of education or
the quality of faculty will decline, or that there will be fewer jobs.
Fewer faculty jobs ranks as the least likely outcome among all subgroups of distance
learning faculty. Faculty teaching notWebbased courses, and those at institutions where the
administration is the primary proponent of distance learning, consider all of these concerns
more likely to occur than faculty teaching Webbased courses and those at institutions where
the faculty is the primary proponent of distance learning.
§
More specifically, 46% of faculty at institutions where the administration is promoting
distance learning think less jobs is at least somewhat likely (but the majority of 54% still
think it is unlikely). Only 31% of faculty at institutions where the faculty is promoting
distance learning think less jobs is at least somewhat likely (the large majority of 69%
think less jobs is unlikely).
§
Almost half (45%) of faculty teaching notWebbased courses think that fewer jobs is at
least somewhat likely (but a majority of 53% still think it is unlikely). Only 33% of
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q5a Likelihood Of Occurrence Of Concerns About Distance
Learning (Less Likely Outcomes, Ranked By D.L. Faculty)
Figure 30
Remainder "Not Sure"
9%
12%
5%
8%
5%
11%
5%
14%
5%
10%
15%
23%
13%
15%
14%
21%
12%
16%
11%
18%
31%
32%
30%
38%
25%
21%
24%
26%
23%
32%
22%
15%
29%
25%
27%
25%
30%
25%
28%
22%
21%
12%
22%
11%
27%
18%
24%
12%
32%
14%
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Extremely
likely
Very
likely
Smwht
likely
Not too
likely
Not at
all likely
h. Less control over teaching
g. Fewer faculty jobs
f. Quality of education will decline
m. Quality of faculty will decline
i. Lose intellectual property control
Trad
Fac
Rank
6
9
10
7
8
Abacus Associates
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faculty teaching Webbased courses think less jobs is at least somewhat likely (the large
majority of 66% think less jobs is unlikely).
Concerns that are most important to faculty.
Faculty assessment as to whether a
concern is likely is different from how important each concern is to faculty, should that
concern, in fact, occur. We use two approaches to uncover what concerns are most important
to faculty. First, we ask them directly how important each concern is, should that concern
occur. Second, we correlate the above question about faculty assessment as to whether a
concern is likely with overall opinions of distance learning, to determine which expectations
drive overall feelings toward distance learning. The two approaches give us somewhat
different results and suggest that feelings toward distance learning are complex. Also, we see
some interesting differences between distance learning and traditional faculty.
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q5b Importance Of Each Concern
(More Important Concerns, Ranked By D.L. Faculty)
Figure 31
Remainder "Not Sure"
31%
31%
35%
42%
32%
29%
25%
31%
22%
27%
35%
36%
35%
38%
32%
34%
36%
33%
36%
34%
21%
21%
13%
11%
22%
25%
22%
22%
24%
25%
8%
5%
8%
5%
7%
3%
12%
7%
10%
6%
4%
4%
8%
3%
5%
4%
4%
2%
6%
4%
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Extremely
important
Very
important
Smwht
import
Not too
import
Not at
all imp
f. Quality of education will decline
n. More work for same pay
o. No intellectual property compensation
k. Student/teacher ratios will increase
Trad
Fac
Rank
3
1
4
2
6
l. More students will cheat
Abacus Associates
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Distance learning faculty tell us that their three top concerns are about equally
important to them, with twothirds of distance faculty saying these concerns would be
extremely or very important if they occurred (Figures 31,32):
§
Distance learning will result in more work for the same amount of pay;
§
The quality of education for students will decline;
§
Faculty will not be fairly compensated for their intellectual property.
Traditional faculty ranks one top concern significantly ahead of all others, with 80%
saying it would be extremely or very important if that outcome occurred:
§
The quality of education for students will decline;
Distance learning faculty think that two of their three most important concerns are
extremely or very likely (Figure 33). More work for the same amount of pay and unfair
compensation are expected results of distance learning courses, and these outcomes rank
among the top three most important possible outcomes for distance learning faculty, and the
second most important possible outcomes for traditional faculty (Figure 34). Given these
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q5b Importance Of Each Concern
(Less Important Concerns, Ranked By D.L. Faculty)
Figure 32
Remainder "Not Sure"
25%
21%
26%
22%
25%
30%
20%
29%
21%
18%
37%
42%
29%
34%
32%
34%
33%
29%
25%
30%
17%
23%
25%
25%
22%
15%
25%
22%
28%
32%
12%
9%
12%
11%
11%
13%
10%
10%
17%
9%
8%
4%
7%
5%
9%
3%
9%
5%
7%
7%
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Dist. Lrn. Faculty
Traditional Faculty
Extremely
important
Very
important
Smwht
import
Not too
import
Not at
all imp
i. Lose intellectual property control
h. Less control over teaching
m. Quality of faculty will decline
j. Faculty less candid in classroom
Trad
Fac
Rank
8
9
5
7
10
g. Fewer faculty job
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NEA & Abacus Associates
Two Of 3 Most Important Concerns About Dist. Lrn. Are
Believed Most Likely To Occur (Distance Learning Faculty)
Figure 33
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
3.3
3.5
3.7
3.9
4.1
2.2
2.4
2.6
2.8
3.0
3.2
3.4
3.6
3.8
Importance Of Concern
Likelihood Of Concern
More
likely
Less
likely
Less imp.
More Imp.
Less candid
More students per
faculty member
More work, same pay
Unfair
compensation
Students cheat
Intellectual property
Education
quality
Content control
Faculty decline
Fewer jobs
NEA & Abacus Associates
Most Important Concern, Decline In Quality Of Education,
Believed Not Likely (Traditional Faculty)
Figure 34
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
3.3
3.5
3.7
3.9
4.1
2.2
2.4
2.6
2.8
3.0
3.2
3.4
3.6
3.8
Importance Of Concern
Likelihood Of Concern
More
likely
Less
likely
Less imp.
More Imp.
Less candid
More students per
faculty member
More work, same pay
Unfair
compensation
Students cheat
Intellectual property
Education
quality
Content control
Faculty decline
Fewer jobs
Abacus Associates
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expectations and priorities, one would expect less positive feelings toward distance learning
in general on the part of both distance learning and traditional faculty. Yet, 72% of distance
learning faculty and 51% of traditional faculty hold positive opinions of distance learning
(compared to only 14% and 22% who hold negative feelings, respectively).
Correlations give us more insight into the complexity of faculty opinions. Overall
feelings about distance learning are most highly correlated and most clearly driven by quality
of education considerations. Distance learning faculty who are most positive about distance
learning believe it is extremely likely that more students will be able to take courses, that there
will be more class participation, that more students will learn from the best teachers, and that
the quality of education and quality of faculty will not decline (correlations between
expectations for these outcomes and overall feelings are all around .5). In spite of the
concerns faculty tell us they have about compensation issues when directly confronted with
those issues, we find that the following traditional union issues are relatively unimportant to
overall feelings toward distance learning (correlations are about .2 or less): more work for the
same pay; unfair compensation for intellectual property; responsibility for more students;
fewer faculty jobs.
We see a similar pattern for traditional faculty. Overall positive feelings about
distance learning are most highly correlated to whether the faculty member expects distance
learning to result in a richer curriculum with the best teacher (correlation=.53), and whether
they think the quality of education will not decline (correlation=.64). Correlations between
the more traditional compensation issues and availability of jobs are lower (correlations range
from between .20 and .35).
§
Distance learning and traditional faculty think about quality of education issues
first and foremost. Concerns about compensation and property rights become
important only when probing makes these considerations more salient.
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Comparing Traditional And DL Courses On Meeting Educational Goals
We know from the above analysis that quality of education considerations are most
important to overall feelings about distance learning courses. In light of this finding, it is
somewhat unexpected that distance learning faculty (combined Webbased and notWeb
based faculty) believe their traditional courses do a better job in meeting goals that NEA
considers essential for a quality education (Figure 35). Comparisons between distance
learning courses and traditional courses are particularly useful in this study because most of
our respondents have taught a traditional course or are currently teaching their distance
learning course as a traditional course.
Distance learning faculty (both Webbased and notWebbased combined) tell us
that their traditional course in the same subject does a better job than their distance
learning course in meeting five of 10 education goals:
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q14 Distance Learning Is Worse On Meeting Most
Goals NEA Considers Essential For Quality Education
Figure 35
Remainder "Not Sure"
16%
10%
5%
8%
5%
10%
9%
8%
5%
6%
28%
22%
19%
20%
18%
23%
18%
19%
19%
12%
35%
49%
43%
41%
43%
24%
28%
25%
27%
23%
16%
13%
12%
21%
22%
29%
26%
31%
30%
26%
3%
4%
7%
7%
6%
12%
16%
16%
15%
22%
b. Access to info
d. High quality materials
j. Improve quantitative skills
h. Master subject matter
c. Eval. course effectiveness
g. Addressing learning styles
f. Group problem solving skills
a. Student interactivity
e. Improve verbal skills
i. Better oral presentations
Much
better
Smwht
better
Same
Smwht
worse
Much
worse
Abacus Associates
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§
Addressing the variety of student learning styles. Fortyone percent (41%) tell us their
traditional course is better; 33% tell us their distance learning course is better at meeting
this goal.
§
Strengthening students' group problemsolving skills (42% traditional better; 27%
distance better);
§
Developing student interactivity (47% traditional better; 27% distance better);
§
Improving verbal skills (45% traditional better; 24% distance better);
§
Helping students deliver better oral presentations (48% traditional better; 18% distance
better).
Distance learning faculty tell us that traditional courses and distance learning courses do an
equally good job of meeting the following education goals:
§
Improving quantitative skills (43% same job, 19% traditional better, 24% distance
better);
§
Helping students master the subject matter (41% same, 28% traditional better, 28%
distance better);
§
Assessing the educational effectiveness of the course (43% same, 28% traditional better,
23% distance better).
Distance learning faculty tell us that distance learning courses do a better job than traditional
courses of meeting these education goals:
§
Giving the students access to information (44% distance better, 19% traditional better);
§
Providing students with high quality course material (32% distance better, 17%
traditional better).
One would expect that under certain circumstances, distance learning courses would
do a better job of meeting educational goals than under other circumstances. The obvious
expectations were not confirmed. Faculty make similar assessments of which type of course
better meets goals, regardless of the field of study (math/science vs. social studies, humanities
and languages), the course level (graduate vs. undergraduate), the institutional organization
(statewide system, etc.), size of the institution, the age of student body, distance of student
from the professor, and class size. More specifically, faculty at institutions with under 2,500
students
do not
give distance learning courses higher ratings for providing access to
information and quality materials than their counterparts at mediumsized and large
institutions.
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On the other hand, two differences are worth noting. First, faculty who teach Web
based courses give distance learning courses significantly better ratings than faculty who teach
notWebbased courses on meeting all of the goals except for giving oral presentations
(Figures 36, 37).
In fact, when we separate Webbased courses from notWebbased
courses, we find that faculty teaching Webbased courses give their distance learning
courses a better rating than their traditional courses on meeting five of the 10 goals:
§
Giving the students access to information (60% distance better, 7% traditional better);
§
Providing students with high quality course material (43% distance better, 7% traditional
better);
§
Helping students master the subject matter (35% distance better, 19% traditional better);
§
Assessing the educational effectiveness of the course (35% distance better, 17%
traditional better);
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q14 WebBased Courses Get Better Ratings Than
Traditional Courses In Meeting These Goals
Figure 36
Remainder "Not Sure"
27%
8%
15%
6%
12%
5%
9%
3%
15%
6%
33%
25%
28%
19%
23%
17%
26%
13%
27%
19%
31%
37%
48%
49%
43%
39%
42%
42%
25%
23%
7%
23%
7%
18%
17%
26%
15%
28%
23%
33%
6%
7%
2%
11%
2%
10%
6%
18%
Web
Not Web
Web
Not Web
Web
Not Web
Web
Not Web
Web
Not Web
Much
better
Smwht
better
Same
Smwht
worse
Much
worse
d. High quality materials
b. Access to info
h. Master subject matter
c Eval. course effectiveness
g. Addressing learning styles
Abacus Associates
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§
Addressing the variety of student learning styles (42% distance better, 29% traditional
better).
Webbased distance learning faculty tell us that their distance learning course and their
traditional course to the same job at meeting these education goals:
§
Improving quantitative skills (27% distance better, 49% same job, 10% traditional
better);
§
Developing student interactivity (38% traditional better; 24% same job, 36% distance
better).
Webbased distance learning faculty tell us that their traditional course does a better job than
their distance learning course at meeting these education goals:
§
Strengthening students' group problemsolving skills (37% traditional better, 30%
distance better);
§
Improving verbal skills (42% traditional better; 27% distance better);
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q14 WebBased Courses Get Same Or Worse Ratings
Than Traditional Courses In Meeting These Goals
Figure 37
Remainder "Not Sure"
5%
5%
11%
6%
11%
7%
5%
5%
5%
7%
22%
16%
27%
12%
19%
17%
22%
16%
10%
14%
49%
38%
24%
24%
29%
26%
25%
28%
23%
21%
8%
16%
26%
36%
26%
27%
31%
30%
28%
25%
2%
11%
10%
21%
11%
21%
11%
19%
22%
23%
Web
Not Web
Web
Not Web
Web
Not Web
Web
Not Web
Web
Not Web
Much
better
Smwht
better
Same
Smwht
worse
Much
worse
j. Improve quantitative skills
a. Student interactivity
f. Group problem solving skills
e. Improve verbal skills
i. Better oral presentations
Abacus Associates
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§
Helping students deliver better oral presentations (50% traditional better; 15% distance
better).
Faculty who have participated in a training workshop also give distance learning
courses better ratings on meeting goals than those who have not participated in a workshop,
but we expect this relationship is spurious, since Webbased faculty are much more likely to
have participated in a workshop.
The second notable difference is that faculty at institutions where the
faculty
promotes
distance learning rate distance learning courses higher on achieving educational goals than
faculty at institutions where the
administration
promotes distance learning. This is related to
the greater cynicism and overall lower level of satisfaction with distance learning that
pervades institutions where the administration is the driving force.
Current Compensation Practices
Teaching a distance learning course does, in fact, require more time than teaching
a traditional course (Figure 38)
Over half (53%) of distance learning faculty tell us they
spend more hours per week preparing and delivering their distance learning course than they
do for a comparable traditional course, compared to only 22% who spend less hours. Faculty
who teach math and science courses, Webbased courses, faculty who both manage and
develop the course material are most likely to spend more hours on their course than their
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q30 Distance Learning Courses Require More Faculty Time
Figure 38
Remainder "Not Sure"
9%
14%
8%
26%
3%
6%
2%
22%
7%
Less time
Same
More time
12 hrs/wk
35 hrs/wk
610 hrs/wk
10+ hrs/wk
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counterparts. Even those who have taught their distance learning course eight times or more
spend more hours (48%) rather than less hours (21%) on their distance learning course.
Notably, class size is not related to whether faculty spend more or less hours on their distance
learning course.
In spite of spending more hours on their distance learning course, most (84%) of
faculty get no course reduction (Figure 39)
. Faculty who teach Webbased courses are
slightly more likely to get a reduction in their load (22%) than those who teach notWeb
based courses (7%), but still the large majority of both get no reduction.
Faculty generally volunteer to teach a distance learning course, even though the
administration is typically the stronger proponent of distance education on campus (Figures
40, 41). About half of both distance learning faculty and traditional faculty believe the
administration is the primary mover on this front, compared to only 30% of distance learning
faculty who believe the primary movers are the faculty members themselves. Other literature
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q31 Most D.L. Faculty Get No Course Reduction
Figure 39
14%
84%
2%
No reduction
Yes, a reduction
Not sure
Abacus Associates
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suggests that for financial reasons, the administration is likely to take an even more assertive
role in the future.
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q39 Faculty Generally Volunteer For Distance Learning
Courses
Figure 40
69%
11%
20%
Volunteer
Assigned
Both
NEA & Abacus Associates
Q6b Most Forceful Proponent Of Distance Learning
Figure 41
30%
51%
10%
3%
2%
2%
1%
17%
52%
5%
8%
2%
2%
13%
Individual faculty
Not sure
Other combo
Outside Co.
Gov. board
Fac/Admin equally
Admin.
Not sure
Individual faculty
Admin.
Other combo
Outside Co.
Gov. board
Fac/Admin equally
Distance Education Faculty
Traditional Faculty
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The administration appears to be the most forceful proponent of distance learning at
statewide institutions (56% of faculty say that the administration is most forceful) than at
district institutions with three or more campuses or institutions with one main campus, where
about 45% say the administration is most forceful. However, the difference is not large. The
majority of faculty report that the administration is the driving force at all three types of
organizational systems.
Although the difference is not large, there is some indication that the information
managers may be somewhat more likely to be at institutions where the administration
promotes distance learning. When the administration promotes distance learning, 25% of
faculty manage but do not develop the content; when the faculty promotes distance learning,
18% are managers but not developers.
With the few exceptions noted in the report, statewide systems with multiple campuses
look remarkably similar to district systems with three campuses and singlecampus
institutions. In particular, the statewide systems resemble other institutions on issues related
to distance learning policy and bargaining.
This initial glimpse at compensation, distance learning policy and collective bargaining
suggests that NEA has considerable opportunity to enhance its advocacy efforts for faculty
members working in this evolving area of higher education. After getting distance learning
included in collective bargaining, NEA faces significant challenges to ensure that faculty have
the resources they need to deliver a quality education through their distance learning courses,
and to ensure fair policies in the areas of compensation, property rights, and evaluation.
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Appendix
Interviewing procedures.
Professional interviewers, working from a central,
monitored location, between February 11 and March 6, 2000 called into the homes of about
90% of NEA's higher education members using telephone numbers from the membership file
(41,000 calls). Interviews were completed with 402 distance learning faculty. For twothirds
of the completed surveys, the interviewer initiated the call. For onethird (33%) of the
completed surveys, the distance learning faculty members called into the "800" number in
response to a message left on their machines. As expected when calling a professional
population, most of the calls involved leaving messages on home answering machines. The
messages described a distance learning course and asked faculty members who qualify as
distance learning faculty to call into the "800" number.
Identifying distance faculty.
A distance learning course is defined as one in which
more than half of the instruction takes place when faculty and students are at different
locations and the instruction is delivered through audio, video or computer technologies.
Correspondence courses and traditional courses with a smaller distance learning component
are not considered distance learning courses. We estimate that about one in 10 NEA higher
education members, or about 5,000 NEA members, have taught a distance learning course in
the last five years. We arrive at this estimate by dividing the number of faculty members who
qualified as distance learning faculty in an interviewerinitiated call (268 respondents) by the
total number of faculty members who where contacted in person by an interviewer (268
distance learning faculty plus 2,468 faculty who did not qualify as distance learning faculty).
Relatively few NEA members refused to talk with the interviewer when interviewers
connected directly with a faculty member, and the cooperation rate was high (77%). The
interviewers placed an extraordinary number of calls simply because only 10% of NEA
faculty members qualify as distance learning faculty; they are a mobile population, and they
are busy, and many protect their privacy with answering machines.
Generalizing to the population.
Because interviewers attempted to reach almost the
entire population of NEA higher education members for whom they had telephone numbers,
our 402 respondents do not constitute a perfectly random sample of distance learning faculty
in strict statistical terms. Also, a third of the respondents called in for the interview,
potentially introducing selfselection considerations. However, the respondents who called in
for the interview are only slightly more positive about distance learning than respondents
completing an interviewerinitiated call, so we are not concerned about selection bias. If this
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were a statistically random sample, the margin of error for the 402 respondents on a question
where members are evenly divided is
±
4.9% at the 95% confidence level.
Another 130 traditional faculty members were also interviewed as part of a control
group. These respondents could be considered a random sample. The cooperation rate was
high, and attempts were made over three nights to reach people who were not at home the
previous night, before moving on to new telephone numbers. This improves accuracy by
including hardtoreach respondents and reducing response bias. The margin of error for the
130 traditional faculty on a question where members are evenly divided is
±
8.5% at the 95%
confidence level. Our confidence that the 130 traditional faculty are reasonably representative
of the larger population of traditional faculty is bolstered by the similarity of their
demographic characteristics with those of the random sample of NEA members we
interviewed in 1998.
It is important to remember that the picture of distance learning presented in this report
applies to NEA faculty members, and it may not be representative of what is happening at
institutions not represented by NEA. However, in order to simplify the text, we simply refer
to NEA members who teach distance learning courses as "distance learning faculty."
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