The Role of the Academic Department in Online Faculty Development

Online faculty and staff who are geographically separated typically feel isolated. (Dolan, 2011; Fouche, 2006; Ng, 2006) A study by Dolan indicated that these faculty members would like increased interaction with administration, more appreciation of their contributions to the university, and professional development opportunities. (Dolan, 2011) Accordingly, presenters explore how the academic department can support online adjunct faculty to improve morale, faculty and student retention, and teaching skills. Mentoring adjunct faculty, recognizing their work, creating professional development resources for their use, and best practices in using technology will be discussed. Both asynchronous and synchronous methodology will be broached. Professional development resources include guidelines on academic issues such as creating syllabi and rubrics and also how to improve teaching skills such as critical thinking. Participants will benefit from the presentation by learning about a variety of ways that universities can offer help to and appreciate geographically separated faculty. Participants may apply knowledge learned by making suggestions to academic departments dealing with these issues.
Dolan, V. (2011). The isolation of online adjunct faculty and its impact on their performance. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 12(2) retrieved from: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/793/1691
Fouche, I. (2006). A multi-island situation without the ocean: tutors’ perceptions about working in isolation from colleagues. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 7(2) retrieved from: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/295/640
Ng, C. (2006). Academics telecommuting in open and distance universities: Issues, challenges, and opportunities. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 7(2) retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/300/632

Interactivity
The presentation will be accompanied by PowerPoint slides. Audience participation will be highly encouraged through polling and discussions in the text messaging area. Audience members will be offered the opportunity to connect with each other for mentoring and offered the opportunity to share personal knowledge and information about practices at their own universities. Questions for thought and interaction will be asked of the audience at various points in the presentation.