The Other 85 Percent

Challenges from Students Flocking to Online Education

December 17, 2008 | Filed under: Capella, Capella University, Inside Higher Ed, The Other 85 Percent, college, college degree, continuing education, distance learning, online education, online learning, online university

It is rewarding to see this article on Inside Higher Ed that students are “flocking online.” Having spent many years in various forms of distance learning and over a decade in online learning, it is interesting that many universities are just now dealing with the issues that flow from a change in delivery method.  And I think that faculty workload is just one of many issues that flow from this change.  Not the least of the issues is what online learning can and will do to change how learning is conceptualized, packaged, delivered, and assessed. 

But back to the article referenced above.  Attention is given to the situation at the University of Iowa where a limited number of faculty taught a large number of online courses and were paid extra to do so.  The example is offered of one faculty member who taught eight online and two traditional courses last year, “in addition to his two usual per semester,” and earned $120,000 over his base salary.  This is described as “gaming the system.” The university provost states that “I don’t think you can do justice to your students and your classes if you’re teaching that much, even if your sections have a relatively few number of students.”

Maybe.

Now, I certainly think we need to be attentive to quality, and it is reasonable to assume that at some point quality will suffer if a faculty member has too many sections or too many students to handle.  But, I think this story and the reactions to it raise some interesting questions.  First, how did the University of Iowa arrive at two courses per semester as the appropriate faculty load?  Was this because they assessed whether the students learned more when faculty had only two courses?  How do they know that teaching twelve courses a year (2 per semester as regular load and eight on overload) diminishes quality?  Is this because their assessments of learning outcomes has revealed that students did not achieve as well?

The fact is that the two course load is negotiated, and faculty have many other responsibilities beyond teaching.  Not the least of which is research and publication.  But, assuming that the faculty member who taught twelve courses rather than four last year is productive in research, publication, and other service, what is the problem?  Or, if the faculty member has achieved tenure and is willing to take a rap in any post-tenure reviews, what is the problem?  How can the university be certain that this is not doing “justice to your students” unless they base this on the assessment of actual learning outcomes?

Has learning been negatively affected?  Is learning measured?  What does it say about a university when there is such concern about teaching more classes without those measures to know if quality is impacted?  Does it say that the university is not so much focused on learning or on students but is focused on faculty needs, desires, and negotiations?

With the increasing demand for online courses, and 40 percent of the demand coming from “traditional college-age students attending classes on the campus,” might there be a possibility that the online courses are perceived as better than the face-to-face courses?  Is it possible that a professor who teaches 12 rather than 4 courses a year is truly dedicated to teaching and may be doing a better job than a colleague who is more focused on research?  The demand for online is dismissed as being due to “simple scheduling conflicts” or “mere convenience.”

Maybe.

Your thoughts? I look forward to reading and responding to your comments.

Mike

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