Training for Faculty Who Teach Online.

The development and progress of distance education through online technologies has grown over the past ten years. Though community colleges across the United States have seen the largest increase, are its faculty members prepared to teach online? The following study examines strategies administrators may use to train faculty who teach online courses at the community college level Introduction Degree programs through distance education offer a variety of benefits to faculty, students, and institutional administrators. In an online environment, interaction between faculty and students increase as does the ability to reach a greater number of learners (NEA, 2000). Other benefits include meeting the needs of non-traditional students, who typically have responsibilities regarding career and family which keep them from enrolling in conventional face-to-face courses, and the needs of traditional students who may have a preference for learning in an online environment (Maguire, 2005). Distance education using online technologies has been growing at an astonishing rate since the late 1990s. According to Allen and Seaman (2008), over four million college students are enrolled in at least one online class. In addition, over 20% of all post-secondary students take at least one online class during the academic year. The percentage is much greater at the community college level where over 50% of students take online courses. While all institutional types within higher education have seen expansion in online learning, community colleges have demonstrated record growth (Allen & Seaman, 2008). According to Frey and Donehue (2002), "technology is rapidly changing the dynamics of the community college learning environment, presenting both opportunities and challenges to faculty and administrators" (p. 3). Moon, Michelich, and McKinnon (2005) state that faculty members need new skills in online instruction. Bathe (2001) indicated that appropriate training for faculty and instructors was not being addressed at many institutions and suggested that proper training could overcome the barriers regarding online course functionality. In some cases, the basics of the online course technology are covered in structured training programs but often faculty are left to learn on their own (Shelton & Saltsman, 2005). Sammons and Ruth (2007) found evidence that many administrators in higher education are unaware of the specific needs concerning online instruction for faculty members. Haber and Mills (2008) argue "community colleges understand faculty members' perceptions of barriers for distance education practices and policies" (p. 268). Consequently, the gap between the simple desire for online training and actual training taking place needs to be narrowed. Wolf (2006) found that faculty who have formal, structured training sessions are successful in online instruction and achieve positive student outcomes. Wolf also revealed that a sound online training program should include suitable course delivery systems and appropriate pedagogy. Schoenfield-Tacher and Persichitte (2000) suggested that faculty members who teach online need to be skilled in the delivery technology chosen and be able to design student-centered lessons as well. It is essential for administrators addressing online learning to understand that the online delivery system and chosen technology are common threads. The delivery technology requires fundamental skills and is the main focus of much available training. Administrators direct institutional support as well as student-centered lesson designs for online education. The training and preparation not only need to cover the basic information on course delivery platforms and technical areas, but also to include best teaching practices. The training should offer the latest developments for distance education instruction (Pagliari, Batts & McFadden, 2009). …