Is There a Shortage of Online Faculty in Traditional Schools?

Traditional universities are inconspicuously eying online education as a potential way to balance budgets but sometimes find themselves short on faculty that have the skills and abilities to teach in this modality. As traditional universities continue to move courses online they have increasing needs for virtually trained faculty to step into these roles. Online universities are blazing trails in this venue and may provide guidance to brick-and-mortar institutions. 

The online market is big and getting bigger each year. In the fall of 2010 approximately 6.1 million students that comprise 31.3% of all students enrolled in an online course (Allen & Seaman, 2011). This is an increase of 6% in just two years making online education a remarkably fast growing modality. Universities don't have enough qualified faculty to fill this need. 

According to a study in the Journal of Online Learning and Teaching there are four reasons why universities don’t have enough online faculty to meet demand (Lloyd, Byrne, & McCoy, 2012):

-Interpersonal barriers,
-Institutions barriers,
-Training and technology barriers,
-Cost/benefit analysis barriers.

Barriers come in many different forms. Faculty in traditional universities are not excited about online education which seems to dwindle their perceived roles in a university. Universities themselves may not be fully open to online education and grudgingly are accepting its benefits. 

As online education grows and begins to match traditional face-to-face modalities they will need to develop their faculty to take over new rolls. With resistance to change among established universities they will find themselves running against the market putting more pressure on their operations. Training faculty, cooling the rhetoric, and looking toward successful online models will make all the difference.

Allen, I., & Seaman, J. (2011). Going the distance: Online education in the United States, 2011. Babson Park, MA: Babson Survey Research Group and Quahog Research Group. Retrieved from http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/goingthedistance.pdf

Lloyd, S. Byrne, M. & McCoy, T. (2012). Faculty-perceived barriers of online education. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 8 (1).

Ground/ Online Adjunct Business Faculty

Application Instructions 

Any open adjunct faculty positions for our Online Learning programs will be posted at www.HigherEdJobs.com. Search by Location, Institution, then Florida Institute of Technology. When a position is posted and applications are reviewed, qualified candidates will be contacted to set up a telephone interview. Should you be chosen for a position, you will be required to submit official transcripts, an I-9 form (employment eligibility), and a W-4 form. 

Teaching Responsibilities 

The course content will be fully developed beforehand. However, the adjunct faculty will facilitate all aspects of instruction, including mentoring and monitoring student progress, fostering communication and collaboration, guiding and evaluating student project work and other assignments, and responding to individual student requests/queries and similar functions. Since courses will be taught online, adjunct faculty can be based at any location with a reliable high-speed internet connection. 

http://online.fit.edu/faculty/recruitment.php

Adjunct Faculty Northcentral School of Business and Technology

NCU is currently seeking Adjunct Faculty to join our School of Business and Technology Management.  

The primary responsibility of adjunct (part-time) faculty is to teach assigned courses in their discipline; that is, to engage students, offer excellent feedback, and inspire and guide students to achieve at their highest academic level. All faculty demonstrate a commitment to excellence and continuous improvement in curricular, instructional, and professional development and to the development of Northcentral’s teaching and learning community. Faculty work closely with their School Dean, administrators, other faculty, and the Center for Academic Excellence.

Essential Job Functions, Teaching

• Successfully complete initial and ongoing faculty development activities
• Demonstrate knowledge of relevant Program Learning Outcomes
• Demonstrate knowledge of content of all courses taught
• Maintain a load of assigned students
• Follow Northcentral policy and procedures
• Assess student learning outcomes competency
• Engage in one or more professional development activities annually, as required by School Dean
• Exercise academic freedom in covering course content and learning outcomes, in accordance with University policy, procedures, and curricula.

http://www.ncu.edu/corporate-information/career-opportunities