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JALNlogo Volume 4, Issue 3 - September 2000
ISSN 1092-8235


TABLE OF CONTENTS

The PDF versions of the articles for this issue of the JALN are available only to Sloan-C Members, the index below links to the web-page versions. It is easy to become a Free Sloan-C Member. Visit our member registration page for more information. Members must be logged in to access the PDF versions of articles.

Logged in Members may go to the Members-Only index for this issue.

Volume 1 Cover

The collection of papers in JALN Volume 4, Issues 2 and 3 is the result of an invitation-only workshop, sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, bringing together about thirty faculty and staff from Sloan-funded projects for online learning. Workshops on learning effectiveness and faculty satisfaction, two of the five foundation pillars of quality in online education, were conducted over a period of two and one half days at the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois in August 1999. Each author was asked to prepare a paper in the spirit of a case study, reflecting what has been learned about how well learning takes place in their project, and how faculty react to having to develop courses and teach in an online learning environment. The workshops involved presentation and discussion of 7 papers on learning effectiveness and 7 papers on faculty satisfaction. These papers are presented in two formats: (1) two special issues of the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN) and (2) a combined volume of papers and comments on each paper (Online Education, Volume 1). The feature that distinguishes the monograph from the special issues of the Journal is the addition of comments about each paper.


Faculty Satisfaction in ALNs: A Dependent or Independent Variable
 
Joel Hartman, Charles Dziuban, Patsy Moskal
University of Central Florida

Abstract:
The authors describe relationships among infrastructure, student outcomes, and faculty satisfaction at the University of Central Florida (UCF). The model focuses on a developmental process that progresses from courses with some Web presence to those that are driven by ALN. Faculty receive support for on-line teaching in the form of release time for training and development, upgraded hardware, and complete course development services. Students receive assistance in the form of orientation, around-the-clock help services, a Pegasus Connections CD-ROM, and a learning on-line Web site. The results of the impact evaluation at UCF indicate that faculty feel that their teaching is more flexible and that interaction increases in the ALN environment. On the other hand, they are concerned that on-line teaching may not fit into the academy culture. The authors argue that faculty satisfaction and student outcomes are strongly related and that their interaction is the most important outcome. Finally, the authors conclude that faculty satisfaction is both a dependent and independent variable that is nested within colleges, departments, and program areas.

 
Instructor Satisfaction in University of California Extension's On-line Writing Curriculum
 
Mary Beth Almeda, Kathleen Rose
University of California Extension

Abstract:
This article describes instructor satisfaction in 14 on-line courses in freshman-level composition and literature, business writing, and English as a Second Language offered in the University of California (UC) Extension's on-line program. The courses chosen for this case study reflect UC Extension's entire ALN program, in that they comprise a broad selection of college- and professional-level courses organized in course sequences and certificate programs. The paper reviews UC Extension's ALN program, describes course and instructor selection criteria, and discusses such issues as course production and costs, instructor support, the transfer of teaching skills, instructor computer literacy, and instructor compensation. The results of an informal instructor survey also are discussed. Obstacles to adoption, effective and problematic practices, and critical programmatic and individual course factors gleaned from this analysis are outlined.

 
Instructor Attitudes within the SCALE Efficiency Projects
 
Lanny Arvan, Diane Musumeci
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Abstract:
This paper presents the results of interviews with the principal investigators of the current Sloan Center for Asynchronous Learning Environments (SCALE) Efficiency Projects. There are six such projects: Spanish, Microbiology, Economics, Math, Chemistry, and Physics. The paper reviews each project individually, summarizes the results, and then discusses some common lessons learned as well as some still open issues. The paper considers satisfaction both from the perspective of the course director/designer and from the perspective of other instructors and graduate teaching assistants. The evidence appears to show that all of these groups are satisfied with ALN, relative to the prior situation. Nonetheless, it is not clear whether these results would translate to other high enrollment courses.

 
ALN Teaching as Routine Faculty Workload
 
Gregory Hislop, Michael Atwood
Drexel University

Abstract:
If the current growth in on-line education continues, teaching on-line will become part of routine faculty workload at many traditional, research-oriented universities. This is already occurring within some faculties, and this paper focuses on one of those cases. The paper describes faculty issues related to a completely on-line graduate degree in Information Systems at Drexel University. Following a brief overview, the paper presents results of a survey of the faculty affected by this degree. The survey addresses faculty support for the degree, and for the prospect of on-line teaching as a significant, permanent part of the work of the college.

 
Implementing a Large On-Campus ALN: Faculty Perspective
 
Edwin Kashy, Michael Thoennessen, Guy Albertelli II, Yihjia Tsai
Michigan State University

Abstract:
This case study describes the implementation and continued operation of a large on-campus ALN for a 500-student course in introductory physics. The ALN was used to modify and complement the original course and thus represents an evolution rather than a revolution. A highly positive impact on student success rates was achieved and continues. Factors that increased faculty satisfaction and instances of dissatisfaction are presented. The potential increase in the latter with technology is of some concern.

 
Factors Influencing Faculty Satisfaction with Asynchronous Teaching and Learning in the SUNY Learning Network
 
Eric Fredericksen, Alexandra Pickett, Peter Shea
State University of New York
William Pelz
Herkimer County Community College
Karen Swan
University of Albany

Abstract:
The State University of New York (SUNY) Learning Network (SLN) is the on-line instructional program created for the 64 colleges and nearly 400,000 students of SUNY. The foundation of the program is freedom from schedule and location constraints for our faculty and students. The primary goals of the SLN are to bring SUNY's diverse and high-quality instructional programs within the reach of learners everywhere, and to be the best provider of asynchronous instruction for learners in New York State and beyond. We believe that these goals cannot be achieved unless faculty receives appropriate support. This paper will examine factors that have contributed to the high level of faculty satisfaction we have achieved in the SLN. The analysis will be done on several levels. This first section will look at the SLN at a program-wide level and will provide information regarding the systemic implementation of our asynchronous learning environment.

The second section examines issues that contribute to on-line teaching satisfaction from a faculty- development and course-design perspective. This section will present the evolution of the four-stage faculty development process and a seven-step course design process that was developed by SLN and comment on lessons learned.

The third section presents results from the SLN Faculty Satisfaction Survey conducted in spring 1999. This section examines factors from a quantitative analysis that significantly contributes to faculty satisfaction with on-line teaching and offers recommendations for course and program design based on these factors.

The fourth section examines faculty satisfaction at the level of individual institutions with examples from specific courses. This section will introduce the reader to local implementation of SLN courses at two college programs in the SUNY system: the Department of Educational Theory and Practice at the University at Albany (UA), and the Internet Academy (IA) of Herkimer County Community College (HCCC). These case studies present and examine important evidence of faculty satisfaction from a single-institution and individual-faculty perspective.

 
Introducing the Penn State World Campus through Certificate Programs in Turfgrass Management and Geographic Information Systems
 
Alfred Turgeon, David Di Biase, Gary Miller
The Pennsylvania State University

Abstract:
This paper describes two of the distance educational programs-Turfgrass Management and Geographic Information Systems-offered through the Penn State World Campus during its first year of operation in 1998. Detailed information is provided on how these programs were selected and supported, the nature of the students who enrolled and the faculty who developed and taught the courses, and the technology and infrastructure employed for delivering content and engaging students in collaborative learning. The organization of the World Campus, the evolution of these programs, and the results obtained from them during the first 18 months of operation are presented. Several contemporary issues are addressed from a faculty perspective, including: teaching effectiveness, relationship with students, satisfaction with product, compatibility with other responsibilities, ethical concerns, incentives and rewards, team efforts, support services, perceptions by colleagues, scholarly value, opportunity cost for faculty, intellectual property concerns, and compensation.

The Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN) is published by the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C™). Responsibility for the contents rests with the authors and not with Sloan-C™. Copyright © 2005 by Sloan-C™. All rights reserved.