Quality Online Preparation: Faculty Preparedness and Faculty Development Programs

Concurrent Session 1

Session Materials

Brief Abstract

Qualities of a prepared online faculty member will be discussed as well as the development of the faculty preparation program at their institution and others.

Presenters

Lead Presenter: Erin O'Brien, Valencia College

I have been a college English professor at UCF, Valencia, and Northern Virginia Community College. I've also worked as a freelance textbook editor and reviewer. My undergraduate, master's and doctoral degrees are all from the University of Central Florida. My degrees are in English Education, Technical Writing, and my doctorate is in Education with an emphasis in instructional technology. I've also been actively involved in Faculty Development at Valencia and have recently completed my term as the Faculty Fellow for Excellence in Online Teaching and Learning. I am now a Lead Facilitator in that department as well. I also have experience as a Quality Matters reviewer, trainer and coordinator.

Co-presenter: Dorothy Haggerty, Valencia College

Extended Abstract

Goals:
To examine the qualities of a prepared online faculty member
To present the attributes of a well designed faculty development program in regard to preparing online faculty members
To discuss quality assurance measures
To discuss online faculty preparedness

This research study was designed to provide an evaluation case study of institutions in the field of online learning and quality assurance. The institutions were examined using Bolman and Deal's Four Frame model and another framework. The goal was to discover what online teaching criteria are required for faculty. A secondary goal was to discern what quality assurance processes are being used to assess the quality of the institutions' online courses and how these correlate with the faculty preparedness process to teach online.

An analysis of the data revealed that the different institutions were at the appropriate stage of development, support, training and quality assurance measures for their sizes, online populations and for the length of time they have been involved in online learning. Findings also revealed that the institutions being studied had quality assurance processes in place that were appropriate to their location, population and faculty.

By examining different diverse approaches to online faculty credentialing, development and training as well as quality assurance approaches to online teaching and learning much can be learned. The information shared in this study and session will benefit any institution of higher learning that is interested in improving their institutions' quality assurance processes, faculty development, and online faculty preparedness.