Their discomfort is exacerbated by the failure of current copyright law to address the issues raised by distance learning. There's also the issue of quality control. Faculty members play major roles in the development of curriculum and setting standards for their particular disciplines. Finally, technology tools are expensive. Better models for measuring the costs and benefits of technological instruction are needed.
Institutions often underestimate the real costs of technology.
There is still much to be learned about the costs and benefits associated with technology. Each institution must find the right balance in combining traditional practices and materials with new ones. Distance education also means new union contract issues, such as evaluation, student contact, workload, and compensation. Other contracts establish a labor-management committee and defer bargaining on the specifics until there is more information. In most cases, faculty members cannot be forced to teach telecourses and the courses are not used to fill their regular teaching load.