Stakeholder Needs
Who are the stakeholders with respect to training and support for online instructors?
In the context of online faculty training and support, the stakeholders would include anyone who is either served by the educational institution's ongoing online program, or is integral to the program's development, function and success. This would generally include the following groups (not including of course the instructors/faculty members themselves):
What are the specific needs of these stakeholder groups?
Administration/Staff Needs and Concerns
An institution’s administration and support staff is naturally concerned about the overall quality of their educational programs, and thus their approach to training and support for online faculty would be undergirded with the primary goal of ensuring high quality instructional standards. Husmann and Miller (2001) found that “administrators perceive quality to be based almost exclusively on the performance of faculty.” They further concluded that there must be strong emphasis placed upon training programs that help enhance faculty performance, skill, motivation, and enthusiasm in the online environment, as well as providing technical and other basic support systems to undergird online faculty’s efforts.
Other important administrative “stakeholder” issues regarding training and support for online faculty include the following:
a. Implementing strategies within training and support programs for attracting and retaining qualified online faculty members through increasing their overall job satisfaction, fulfillment and motivation. Lee (2001) concluded that “faculty motivation, commitment, and satisfaction are directly linked to a proportional amount of the instructional support received.”
i. When online faculty members perceive that they are being adequately trained, invested in, supported and recognized by the institution for their efforts, their “levels of motivation and dedication increase” (Maguire, 2005).
ii. Furthermore, it is vital for administrators to understand how support systems as well as recognition, compensation, and reward strategies can help to encourage online faculty’s participation and creativity (Husmann and Miller, 2001). Faculty members are said to be motivated by “extrinsic factors” such as “technical support, compensation, job security, and promotion,” as well “instrinsic factors” such as “personal satisfaction, teaching development, intellectual challenge, and recognition” (Brooks, 2003).
iii. Administrative leaders must also prioritize the budgeting of institutional resources for ongoing purchases, development and upgrading of curriculum and instructional materials, including course management systems, software packages, digital media, visuals and written materials in order to fully equip and support their online faculty and course designers to have the best educational tools (Husmann and Miller, 2001).
iv. *Administrators who wish to retain quality faculty over the long term must understand and support both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivational issues that are important to online instructors, and then incorporate institutional strategies and systems to support and satisfy these needs and issues appropriately. This will help to ensure the short and long term success of their institution.
b. Implementing strategies for increasing student success and retention rates (Brooks, 2003). This is an integral issue for administrators to understand and develop policy around, where proper faculty training and support can go a long way in helping to ensure students receive the appropriate instructional support and interaction that is needed.
i. Online faculty must be trained in how to effectively facilitate an online learning community through peer to peer interaction as well as peer to instructor interaction.
ii. Student success and retention rates are directly connected to the institution’s policies for the development of the online learning environment. In this way, administrative leadership’s awareness and attitudes directly affect the online faculty’s awareness of appropriate instructional standards and procedures, which ultimately trickles down to affect students’ experience and support within the online course environment.
iii. Administrators must implement instructional training that emphasizes instructors’ online presence within each course, thus minimizing students’ isolation and lack of communication.
c. Ensuring a consistency in quality and standards when training faculty for best practices in online instructional methods in comparison to the quality and standards for classroom based programs.
i. This can also involve training and supporting faculty to continue to implement and maintain the institution’s specific accreditation standards and policies within all aspects of the online program.
ii. An institution’s higher administrative leadership is ultimately responsible to provide the guidance and accountability for meeting and maintaining educational standards and quality issues. There should be clear and relevant policies put into place that help to ensure all faculty and staff understand and consistently practice these standards.
Student Needs
a. Instructional Support and Interaction
i. Lackey (2011) found that too little student-instructor interaction as well as poor overall communication within the online course environment creates challenges for both students and instructors, where quality of learning
and overall morale both suffer.
ii. Thus, a key stakeholder issue for students is for faculty to be adequately trained in best practices for online instruction, including: practice of consistent and enthusiastic interaction, strong support and communication
with students, and basic instructional techniques for the online course environment
b. Accessibility Standards
i. Frey and King (2011) state the following: “Institutions are in need of a comprehensive disability policy specifically for online courses and programs. A structured policy with specific roles and responsibilities will increase the accountability for developing more accessible courses.”
ii. These policies and standards must be thoroughly incorporated into faculty training and support programs, to where faculty are not doing guess-work regarding how to ensure accessibility to all of their students with potential disabilities.
iii. Research (Frey and King, 2011) indicates only 13% of schools had a specific disability policy for online courses and programs, and 75% of schools did not have a budget for creating accessible course content.
In the context of online faculty training and support, the stakeholders would include anyone who is either served by the educational institution's ongoing online program, or is integral to the program's development, function and success. This would generally include the following groups (not including of course the instructors/faculty members themselves):
- Administration and Support Staff
- Students
What are the specific needs of these stakeholder groups?
Administration/Staff Needs and Concerns
An institution’s administration and support staff is naturally concerned about the overall quality of their educational programs, and thus their approach to training and support for online faculty would be undergirded with the primary goal of ensuring high quality instructional standards. Husmann and Miller (2001) found that “administrators perceive quality to be based almost exclusively on the performance of faculty.” They further concluded that there must be strong emphasis placed upon training programs that help enhance faculty performance, skill, motivation, and enthusiasm in the online environment, as well as providing technical and other basic support systems to undergird online faculty’s efforts.
Other important administrative “stakeholder” issues regarding training and support for online faculty include the following:
a. Implementing strategies within training and support programs for attracting and retaining qualified online faculty members through increasing their overall job satisfaction, fulfillment and motivation. Lee (2001) concluded that “faculty motivation, commitment, and satisfaction are directly linked to a proportional amount of the instructional support received.”
i. When online faculty members perceive that they are being adequately trained, invested in, supported and recognized by the institution for their efforts, their “levels of motivation and dedication increase” (Maguire, 2005).
ii. Furthermore, it is vital for administrators to understand how support systems as well as recognition, compensation, and reward strategies can help to encourage online faculty’s participation and creativity (Husmann and Miller, 2001). Faculty members are said to be motivated by “extrinsic factors” such as “technical support, compensation, job security, and promotion,” as well “instrinsic factors” such as “personal satisfaction, teaching development, intellectual challenge, and recognition” (Brooks, 2003).
iii. Administrative leaders must also prioritize the budgeting of institutional resources for ongoing purchases, development and upgrading of curriculum and instructional materials, including course management systems, software packages, digital media, visuals and written materials in order to fully equip and support their online faculty and course designers to have the best educational tools (Husmann and Miller, 2001).
iv. *Administrators who wish to retain quality faculty over the long term must understand and support both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivational issues that are important to online instructors, and then incorporate institutional strategies and systems to support and satisfy these needs and issues appropriately. This will help to ensure the short and long term success of their institution.
b. Implementing strategies for increasing student success and retention rates (Brooks, 2003). This is an integral issue for administrators to understand and develop policy around, where proper faculty training and support can go a long way in helping to ensure students receive the appropriate instructional support and interaction that is needed.
i. Online faculty must be trained in how to effectively facilitate an online learning community through peer to peer interaction as well as peer to instructor interaction.
ii. Student success and retention rates are directly connected to the institution’s policies for the development of the online learning environment. In this way, administrative leadership’s awareness and attitudes directly affect the online faculty’s awareness of appropriate instructional standards and procedures, which ultimately trickles down to affect students’ experience and support within the online course environment.
iii. Administrators must implement instructional training that emphasizes instructors’ online presence within each course, thus minimizing students’ isolation and lack of communication.
c. Ensuring a consistency in quality and standards when training faculty for best practices in online instructional methods in comparison to the quality and standards for classroom based programs.
i. This can also involve training and supporting faculty to continue to implement and maintain the institution’s specific accreditation standards and policies within all aspects of the online program.
ii. An institution’s higher administrative leadership is ultimately responsible to provide the guidance and accountability for meeting and maintaining educational standards and quality issues. There should be clear and relevant policies put into place that help to ensure all faculty and staff understand and consistently practice these standards.
Student Needs
a. Instructional Support and Interaction
i. Lackey (2011) found that too little student-instructor interaction as well as poor overall communication within the online course environment creates challenges for both students and instructors, where quality of learning
and overall morale both suffer.
ii. Thus, a key stakeholder issue for students is for faculty to be adequately trained in best practices for online instruction, including: practice of consistent and enthusiastic interaction, strong support and communication
with students, and basic instructional techniques for the online course environment
b. Accessibility Standards
i. Frey and King (2011) state the following: “Institutions are in need of a comprehensive disability policy specifically for online courses and programs. A structured policy with specific roles and responsibilities will increase the accountability for developing more accessible courses.”
ii. These policies and standards must be thoroughly incorporated into faculty training and support programs, to where faculty are not doing guess-work regarding how to ensure accessibility to all of their students with potential disabilities.
iii. Research (Frey and King, 2011) indicates only 13% of schools had a specific disability policy for online courses and programs, and 75% of schools did not have a budget for creating accessible course content.