Abstract: As distance education initiatives flourish throughout higher education, new avenues of opportunity have opened for students and faculty alike. The literature is rich in findings related to factors which foster student satisfaction and success in the virtual environment. Despite the rising numbers of faculty teaching exclusively at a distance, the literature is silent on the identification of factors that support faculty well-being in the areas of stress and job satisfaction for those teaching exclusively online. This descriptive study used Delphi methodology to identify stressors and levels of job satisfaction among faculty teaching exclusively at a distance. Background With growing numbers of faculty moving toward a teaching load that is geographically independent of both students and colleagues, it is critical that the support needs of these faculty are identified and addressed. Higher education administrators and faculty developers face the challenge of identifying and meeting the needs of this often highly diverse and geographically dispersed faculty. The information gathered can be used to inform administrators about those factors that induce and prevent stress and burnout, sustain occupational satisfaction and promote employee retention. The purpose of this study was to provide an initial exploration into the experiences of distance education faculty with regard to occupational stress and job satisfaction. The data collected from this study provides descriptive information on stressors experienced by distance educators. Data was collected by way of a Delphi panel of higher educators who teach exclusively at a distance, moving them through adapted versions of Gmelch's (1986) Faculty Stress Index, a measurement of faculty stress levels, and the Abridged Job Descriptive Index (aJDI) which provided a measurement of job satisfaction for consensus within the panel. The central question this study sought to answer was: How do distance educators characterize their stress and stressors? In addition to stress, the study also asked: How satisfied are educators working exclusively in a distance environment? Review of Related Literature Unfortunately, the literature offers little evidence of research into the affective experience of the distance educator. Although there is general recognition that managing students is a demanding and often stressful aspect of conducting a distance course, faculty support is most often limited to technical and instructional design support (Gates, 2000). There is little or no attention given to the totality of the experience of teaching at a distance, and what the impact is on a social or personal level from the faculty perspective. Cooper (1998) noted, “New technology...has added a burden of information overload as well as accelerating the pace of work, as a greater speed of response becomes the standard” (p. 314). This has potential to be particularly true in the higher education environment, whose client-base are young people who are native to the culture of instant information and instant response. The learner's sense of the “rolling present” can make faculty feel pressured to spend large amounts of time interacting with their distant students who frequently perceive distance education as an “always open” educational enterprise (Kimball, 1998). A secondary factor that can directly influence the stress levels and job satisfaction of faculty operating exclusively at a distance is the scope of what “teaching” might mean as a distant faculty member. Increasingly, institutions heavily involved in distance education have created an organizational structure that “unbundles” (Paulson, 2002) the roles traditionally associated with the professorate. When faculty roles are unbundled, the traditional faculty triad of research, teaching and service are changed and often separated. Most often this means limiting distance faculty to task-based activities related to instruction (Sherron & Boettcher, 1997). This shift may be a welcome change for the distance educator, freeing him or her to focus exclusively on the endeavors associated with teaching and learning. However it is also likely that it may be a detractor with regard to occupational satisfaction by removing duties that brought fulfillment and reward. Methodology The purpose of this study was to examine how distance educators evaluate their own stress and identify the factors that contribute to or diminish stress. In addition, the occupational satisfaction of distance educators was explored across multiple dimensions to identify areas of satisfaction, dissatisfaction and indifference. The Delphi Technique was selected as the method by which to gather initial data. This is an appropriate methodology based on the absence of foundational research in this area. The Delphi Technique was developed to assist researchers in establishing foundational research and its qualitative nature is appropriate for exploring subjective experiences like stress and job satisfaction. While the classic Delphi often consists of an entirely free-form initial round whereby the respondents select items of interest and importance, modern embodiments of the methods recommend a more prescribed initial round. For this study, two quantitative instruments with high reliability and validity were selected as the foundation for the Delphi questionnaire. Each was modified to allow for open ended comments or rationale after each survey item. This provided the qualitative data for the study. The selected questionnaires are both quantitative surveys, the Faculty Stress Index (FSI) to measure perceived stress levels of faculty, and the Abridged Job Descriptive Index (aJDI) to measure faculty job-satisfaction levels. Experts in teaching exclusively at a distance were recruited through the posting of an announcement regarding the study on the Distance Education Online Symposium (DEOS) and the Sloan Consortium Listserv (Sloan-C). From the posted request for participants, 16 individuals offered their participation. Qualifications of the 16 volunteers were reviewed through a socio-demographic survey and brief descriptions of work experience. The final panel was comprised of 5 males and 9 females with an average age of 51. A group with much experience, the panelists had been higher educators for an average of 21.8 years and had been working as distance educators for an average of 9.4 years. In addition, these panelists represented seven states and three foreign countries. As a computer-based survey, all interactions took place by email or online using Zoomerang online survey-creation software. The respondent's survey submission were recorded and stored within the browser-based system and provided both individual and aggregate data to the researcher for analysis, compilation and dissemination in future rounds. Respondents proceeded through three iterations of the survey, with the second and third rounds informed by the results of the prior iteration. Findings and Results Consensus within the panel suggests that the greatest sources of stress for distance educators relate to issues associated with Gmelch, Wilke and Lovrich's (1989) student interaction (SI) domain that encapsulates issues related to teaching and learning. Working with under-prepared students was ranked as the panel's greatest source of stress overall. Comments revealed frustration with trying to remediate in an asynchronous environment and the reality that much of the remediation they are providing should have been provided earlier in the student's academic career. Perhaps not surprisingly, student evaluation also ranked highly for these distance educators, who noted in their comments that rigorous teaching and learning is not always popular with students. Student evaluation also fell into the student interaction (SI) category within the Gmelch, Wilke and Lovrich (1989) categories. Reflections on the increasing consumer view held by students and the institutional politics of student satisfaction often impede effective instruction and evaluation for both teacher and student. Table 1 Items Ranked Significant in Round One FSI Questions Round 1 Cateogry Number Mean Median IQR DI 7&8 Complying with departmental/institutional regulations. 3.38 3 3 SI 11&12 Evaluating the performance of students. 2.85 3 2 PI 15&16 Imposing excessively high self-expectations. 3 3 3 SI 37&38 Teaching/advising inadequately prepared students. 3.46 4 1 RR 43&44 Insufficient reward for institutional/departmental service. 2.31 3 2 TC 59&60 Attending meetings which take up too much time. 2.85 3 3 Table 2 Items Ranked Significant in Round Two FSI Questions Round 2 Category Number Mean Median IQR PI 15&16 Imposing excessively high self-expectations. 3.09 4 2.5 TC 57&58 Too heavy a work load. 2.17 4 3 TC 59&60 Attending meetings which take up too much time. 2.58 4 2 Table 3 Items Ranked Significant in Round Three FSI Questions Round 3 Category Number Mean Median IQR SI 11&12 Evaluating the performance of students. 2.64 2 3.5 PI 15&16 Imposing excessively high self-expectations. 2.36 2 3 Workload (category TC) also ranked highly across all three iterations. The comments contributed to these questions spoke directly to the unique demands of distance education. The pressure of being online and available to students on a round-the-clock basis and the feeling that you're never ‘done' with teaching in the way you are when a class period ends led to comments about distance education being “fatiguing” and intrusive on personal and leisure time. Connected to workload were high faculty stress rankings related to self-imposed expectations about performance and achievement. These are also categorized under TC in the tables. While this quest to be the best may not be unique to distance faculty, the rationale following these rankings suggest that this sense of urgency to achieve and please is augmented by the 24/7 nature of the distance education environment and the guil

Abstract: Podcasting and podcatching provide trainers and teachers with powerful, personal tools for delivering exactly the right content to learners at teachable moments—anytime, anywhere. The strength of podcasting lies in the potency of voice communication, which cuts through the dense text of the Internet and offers a human connection during distance training. In addition, podcasting offers the ability for learners to multitask and to time-shift content. Trainers, professors and librarians have already begun using podcasting for myriad training and learning situations, and new tools are making podcast production possible for novices. Copyright, security, searchability, archival, and diversity are some of the current concerns podcasters must address as they develop this new instructional avenue. Podcasting: Co-opting MP3 Players for Education and Training Purposes Podcasting is the term for creating a Web-based broadcast series that is delivered to subscribers automatically through the use of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) software. The term is a combination of two words: iPod (one brand of MP3 player) and broadcasting ( Podcasting , 2006) Podcasts are used to record and disseminate audio content. Podcatching refers to selecting and then receiving audio file subscriptions automatically. Both podcasting and podcatching are somewhat misleading terms because iPods are not essential to either process. Podcasts are received and managed by the subscriber's PC. The subscriber has the option of listening to the file at the PC or downloading the podcasts to any MP3 player, CD, or other mobile device. Many users configure their software to download podcasts automatically. The point of podcatching is to “capture audio content that appeals to one's interests” (Gordon-Murnane, 2005, p. 47). Although podcasts originated for entertainment purposes, podcasting and podcatching provide trainers and teachers with powerful, personal tools for delivering exactly the right content to learners at teachable moments—anytime, anywhere. Training and development (TD however, Smith (2005) said that people respond to voice differently than to text. He said, “Voices poke through and relieve us of an oppressive environment of text and images” (p. 32). Voice is personal, and it can bring information to life. The addition of tone to a message creates a greater personal connection. Smith also argued that storytelling is the main reason that podcasting is rocketing to popularity (p. 32). What is more personal than hearing a story precisely as the storyteller intended with the words enhanced by tempo, rhythm, pitch, accents and style? For example, one can read Isabel Allende's (2005) essay “In Giving I Connect with Others” on the NPR This I Believe website, but listening to her read it through the linked audio file is an utterly different experience. A powerful text message becomes super-charged through the addition of Allende's distinctive voice. To link this to TD Gordon-Murnane, 2005; Smith, 2005). This feature is especially helpful for participants who are absent from meetings or classes. Using an iPod or other mobile device, learners can receive all the content they need in spite of scheduling conflicts or emergencies. Weinstein (2006a) described other benefits T&D professionals can reap from the time-shift capability of podcasting. Those benefits include preparing learners for training through pre-course work, following up and reinforcing training through post-course work, as well as reaching new hires before they even start the job. Consider how giving new employees an iPod and asking them to listen to a number of short files outside of a training environment is far different from confronting them with thick, impersonal manuals to read and digest. Likewise, consider the benefits of delivering content in short bursts, rather than intensive orientation workshops. Some companies are already exploring the possibilities. For instance, Bose Corp. is using podcasts to guide new hires through a tour of the facility in Framingham , Mass. , and Capital One Financial Corp. starts new employees on an assignment using an iPod and recorded book the same day they accept a job (Weinstein, 2006a). Finally, Wilson (2006) pointed out a chemistry professor at Drexel University who has shifted his lectures to podcasts so that class time can be used for deeper learning and application. In these ways, podcasting allows trainers to expand the training experience beyond traditional boundaries of class time. These four factors—the intimacy of the voice communication, the opportunity for increased learner control, and the abilities to multitask and time-shift content—make podcasts ideal for the creative applications described above. In addition, to the instructional benefits, podcasting is not prohibitively expensive. Weinstein (2006a) said that Capital One Financial Corp. has found that if an employee listens to just six hours of content, the company breaks even on the costs of the program (p. 23).

Abstract: Each year, the number of institutions offering distance learning courses continues to grow significantly (Green, 2002; National Center for Educational Statistics, 2003; Wagner, 2000). Broskoske and Harvey (2000) explained that “many institutions begin a distance education initiative encouraged by the potential benefits, influenced by their competition, and prompted by fear of not being involved in distance education” (p. 37). These are just some of the reasons the percentage of higher education institutions offering distance learning programs exceeded 56% (n = 2,320) in 2000-01 (NCES, 2003). However, many programs begin without sufficient planning (Broskoske & Harvey, 2000; Katz, 2003) or are operating without the necessary support systems in place for continued success (Levy, 2003). In fact, what is necessary to support a distance learning program is a topic a few articles discuss (Benke, Brisham, Jarmon, & Paist, 2000; Phipps & Merisotis, 2000; Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications, 1999), but do not cover adequately, as the support of the program is not the articles' primary focus. This study addresses this void by identifying the various elements necessary to support a quality distance learning program through the introduction of the Concentric Support Model; a tool institutions can use in the planning and evaluation of their distance learning program.

Abstract: Internet has created a new level of competition among distance learning institutions, and the entry of fast growing dot.com companies complicates the competitive landscape. Internet has also empowered students who now expect a service-driven value chain encompassing personalized attention, real-time responsiveness and consistent guidance at every touch point during their stay at the institution. This gradual transformation of the distance education landscape has brought the issue of quality of educational services to prominence. Institutions are interested in determining how services can be leveraged to increase competitive advantage as part of distance learning marketing strategy. * Article originally published in: “Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration”, V. 9 (2006), n. 2, Summer 2006, University of West Georgia, Distance Education Center. http://www.westga. edu/%7Edistance/ojdla/ summer92/shaik92.htm Reprinted with permission. ABSTRACT. Education is a service with a multiplicity of student interactions over time and across multiple touch points. Quality teaching needs to be supplemented by consistent quality supporting services for programs to succeed under the competitive distance learning landscape. ServQual and e-SQ scales have been proposed for measuring quality of traditional and e-commerce services. Currently there are no instruments available to measure the quality of distance learning services. With the growing demand for online education there is a need for an instrument to measure the quality of online distance learning services. This study addresses the gap by identifying the dimensions and the service quality scale (DL-sQUAL) of online distance learning programs.

Abstract: This paper discusses the enormous impact distance learning has had on traditional higher education and addresses emerging leadership roles. The writer will address and discuss qualities that are necessary for leaders and the success of their distance education initiatives. Topics discussed include critical issues relating to the evolution and continuation of distance learning programs such as globalization, consistent lack of federal and state educational funding, a growing student population, and the emergence of the Internet. In addition, new technologies in distance education are highlighted. Finally, the writer will provide considerable information for institutions of higher learning as well as those individuals associated with the advancement of online learning modalities.

Abstract: This study reports the out come of a primary qualitative investigation of open and distance learning system of education as a panacea to the problem of socially induced constraints on the acquisition of education, that may lead to the inability to attend higher institutions of learning, acquire certificates, become a qualified skilled worker by being able to study for the course of study chosen by the individual. A major interest of the study was to determine the perception of the recipients about what the cost effectiveness of open and distance learning system is. The study based on interviews and focus group discussions with learners, facilitators, study centre managers and guidance counsellors who were the learners support providers and stakeholders in the open and distance learning and its expected results for the learners was discussed. The study sought to investigate whether these stakeholders subscribed to the fact that the open and distance learning system of education will achieve its desired objectives or not. The survey confirms the existence of the imperative that brought about the establishment of open and distance learning institutions. The fact that many recipients confirmed that more of these types of institutions are needed suggests that the samples are of the opinions that it is an effective approach to higher education in Nigeria . From the result of the investigation, it was concluded that open and distance learning institutions are highly effective in considering the purpose of establishing them within the general framework of the education system. Introduction It is a trite statement that education is the greatest social leveller and that education is the most potent instrument for mental and social emancipation. Nations of the world, in recognition of this, sought to provide quality education for majority of their citizens in an equitable and accessible manner (Fafunwa 1974). This is contingent on the realization of the leaders that a nexus exists between education and national development processes (Jegede 2000). This reality has led many countries, developed and developing alike, to make huge investments in the education of their people. However, the greatest challenge assailing many nations is how to provide educational opportunities for many of their citizens. This phenomenon is particularly disturbing in developing nations of the world where there is a preponderance of high population growth rate and low per capita income (Jegede 2000). Providing quality education to millions has been one of the struggles facing developing countries like Nigeria . The formal system of education, via the conventional classroom setting which had been in existence for centuries has gained some sort of loss in momentum and is slow in responding to the challenge of the exponential rise in the population of those who have expressed interest in education. This rise in the population of those seeking educational opportunities in the conventional system calls for a radical departure from the traditional method of educating people. However, the increase in the development of information and communication technologies as they are applied to the education process has created a new set of learners who are not merely restricted to the brick and mortal classrooms, as they once existed. It is time to explore the possibility and effectiveness of alternative and innovative approaches to the educative process, since expanding educational opportunities through conventional means to groups that had hitherto been unreached such as women in purdah, migrant cattle farmers, fishermen, offshore oil workers, prisoners, working women, full time house wives, etc, means putting great strains on the already shrinking education budgets. It is against the backdrop of this that open and distance learning has been identified as the panacea to the perennial problems of equitable access to education, equality of opportunities as well as providing a second chance for those who had once been in the system but had to leave [dropouts]. UNESCO (2002) stated that open and distance learning is not necessarily the most cost-efficient approach – but then there is no reason why it should necessarily be. Distance education methods may be the only way to reach some target audiences, in which case lowering the cost of education will not necessarily be an objective of distance education. This will allow for enhancement of opportunities that support education for all and life long learning and also provide avenues for the acquisition of flexible and qualitative education for all categories of learners to justify the crave for learners' achievement. What is Open and Distance Learning? No definition has been found to be exhaustive in attempting to define open and distance learning; rather there are several approaches to defining the term. According to UNESCO (2002), the terms open and distance learning represent approaches that focus on opening access to education and training provision, freeing learners from the constraints of time and place and offering flexible learning opportunities to individuals and groups of learners. Peratton, Robinson & Creed (2001) defined distance education as ‘an educational process in which a significant proportion of the teaching is conducted by someone far removed in space and/or time from the learners. Open Learning, in turn, is ‘an organized educational activity, based on the use of teaching materials, in which the constraints on study are minimized in terms of access, entry, or time and place, pace, method of study, or any combination of these. Thus, the concept of open and distance learning suggest an educational approach designed to reach learners in their homes/offices/shops etc, provide learning resources for them to qualify without attending formal classes in person, or create opportunities for life long learning, no matter where or when they want to study. Hulsmann (1997) had approached the definition of the concept of open and distance learning from the characteristic point of view. He identified four crucial features of distance education as follows: • The separation of the teacher and the learner in time or place, or in both time and place. • Influence of an educational institution: necessity for institutional accreditation of programmes and courses. • The use of technical media: involving mixed media courseware such as print, radio and television broadcasts, video and audiocassettes, computer band learning and telecommunications. • The provision of two-way communication: allowing for interaction between learners and tutors either synchronously or asynchronously, as opposed to the passive receipt of broadcast signals. The ODL trainers' toolkit published jointly by the Commonwealth of Learning and the Asian Development Bank (2000) identified two additional features of distance education as: • Possibility of face-to-face meetings for tutorials, learner-learner interaction (self-help study groups), library study, laboratory and practice sessions. • Use of industrialized processes; that is, in large scale open and distance learning operations, labour is divided and tasks are assigned to various staff working together in course development teams. Cost Effectiveness of Open and Distance Learning Obanya (1999) reported that there exists a great insufficiency of opportunities in access to quality education in Nigeria today with low quality education and its frequently observed irrelevance. This calls for a radical change in the approach to the educative process in Nigeria . UNESCO (2002) had stated that “in efforts to meet the new and changing demands for education and training, open and distance learning may be seen as an approach that is at least complementary and under certain circumstances, an appropriate substitute for the face-to-face methods that still dominates most educational systems”. The distance education alternative with all its palpable advantages of access and flexibility seems to be the solution to the problem. The open and distance learning scheme holds a number of potentials for various stakeholders in the education and development process. To the learner, ODL means more freedom of access and thereby, a wider range of opportunities for learning and qualification. It is often a cheaper means of attending school for the student since some people may not be able to leave their places of work to go to school full time. For employers, ODL offer the possibility of organizing in-service training for their staff without necessarily releasing them for long periods of productive time. With sufficient number of employees being trained, ODL is often the most cost-effective means. For the government and educational policy makers, the system is a panacea to the perennial problem of provision of equitable and accessible education at an affordable and cost effective way. Hulsmann (2000) defined Cost-effectiveness as the capacity of a system to attain the goals determined by the system. Cost effectiveness maximizes the ratio of outcomes/cost of inputs. In simple terms, efficiency means reducing the cost of inputs for a given outcome. Outcome is viewed in educational contexts, since in most cases in the educational system, the objectives are both numerous and impossible to measure with the same yardstick. Creed (2001) stated that one of the most important questions on cost effectiveness analysis is how do the costs of conventional and distance education compare? Bartley & Golek (2004) are also of the opinion that the question that is most deluging is how to determine the cost effectiveness of education programmes offered via the distance when compared piecewise to the traditional medium. Rumble (2001) argued that the factors affecting the costs of face-to-face education include whether small tutorials, seminars, lectures or independent and resource-based learning strategies are adopted. But it is important to note

Abstract: Education, in its traditional format, has rapidly changed as a result of technological advances. The present study examined what online degree seekers, at the undergraduate and graduate levels, express as their perceived needs for student support services and to what extent participants perceive these needs to be met. This study, the first conducted to investigate student services where participants were completely online degree seekers, utilized an inventory listing 49 potential out-of-class needs for online degree seekers. For all but one item, there was a significant difference between perceived need versus perceived availability of services. A Needs Assessment: A Study of Perceived Need for Student Services by Distance Learners Distance learning, and in particular, online education, has recently increased its presence within higher education. In 2000-2001, almost 90% of American public colleges and universities offered electronic distance learning, and 60% of these institutions participated in a distance learning related consortium (Epper & Garn, 2003). At the end of 2004, roughly one million students were enrolled in completely online education programs (Carnevale, 2005). Education, in its traditional format, is changing with the presence of technology in education rising. Meanwhile, society continues to become more accustomed to the increasingly reliable, flexible, and affordable technologies available today (Williams, Paprock, & Covington, 1999). Thus, an even greater growth in distance education enrollment must be anticipated. The purpose of this study was to examine what online degree seekers express as their perceived needs with regard to student support services that exist for students attending on-campus classes and to what extent did participants perceive these needs to be met. The present study is the first conducted to investigate student services where participants were completely online degree seekers. Despite rapid and significant growth in distance education, the literature in the field of distance education primarily focuses on the in-course experience of students. How students learn best at a distance and technological support for students at a distance compose a large portion of the existing literature. Research has also been conducted on what it takes to create a successful distance education program (Distance Learning Policy Laboratory, June 2002; Krauth & Carbajal, n.d.; Shea & Armitage, 2003). Bayless (2001) conducted a study on the non-academic needs of distance learners. While this study offers valuable insight into the out of the classroom needs of distance learners, participants included both faculty and students. Furthermore, 25% of the student participants in this study also attended classes on campus. When students participate in online courses at the same time as attending on campus classes, their ability to access campus based student support services becomes less of an issue. A lack of scientific research based literature exists especially studies that solely focus on what do the students perceive that they need. Moreover, the published literature surrounding distance learners has not focused on the needs of those students who are solely seeking degrees online. This study was designed to begin discussion in the literature of student support services needs for online degree seekers from the students' perspectives. As with traditional college and university campuses, online universities must provide support services for their students. Hruthka (2001) stated “excellence in education means much more than course delivery. An entire support system of academic and student services must go hand in hand with teaching and learning” (¶2). LaPadula (2003) discussed that on a traditional campus, there is usually a division of student affairs that provides support and resources for students. Services such as admissions, student records, financial aid, registration, library services, bookstore services, and counseling are often available to students physically attending classes on campus. “These services are assumed to be part of the educational process” (p. 119). Student services for this population are only now becoming an issue in the field of distance education, and they have yet to be fully explored in the literature. Within the limited amount of data collected on support services, the focus is on the perceived necessities: online availability of admissions, registration, and financial aid. Important services a student might encounter and utilize in an on-campus situation such as career planning and placement, counseling, and other commonly seen campus-based support services have not been given sufficient consideration (Berge & Mrozowski, 2001). Moneta (1997) explained that the rapid and constant changes in technology challenge student affairs administrators to offer services in forms different than traditionally seen. While it may be costly to implement student support services in new formats, it is necessary for online education to succeed. Further, student affairs administrators must be open and flexible to this nontraditional service delivery. Bothel (2001) pointed out that few changes are taking place in the overall university to accommodate for the special needs of the distance learning population. Technology, and distance education in particular, creates a new arena for student affairs administrators who debate if all services traditionally found in a division of student affairs on a college campus can be offered at a distance. LaPaluda (2003) stated that “support readily available to on-campus students is lacking for distance learners and creating further isolation that can be discouraging and lead to failure” (p. 120). Online institutions must find ways of providing services equivalent to those on traditional college campuses. He added that while the most common services provided are financial aid, admissions and registration, online learners needed access to other student support services such as tutoring, academic advisement, personal counseling, career counseling, and library services. Offering these services only if the student comes to campus is counterproductive to distance education. “It is unrealistic to expect students that do not come to campus for their education will travel to campus to access student services” (p. 120). Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to examine what online degree seekers express as their perceived needs with regard to student support services that exist for students attending on-campus classes. This study also explored to what extent online degree seekers, at the undergraduate and graduate levels, express that their student support services needs are being met. The researcher attempted to answer several research questions surrounding the non-academic experiences of online degree seekers. Two such questions explored: • What support services that are typically provided through student affairs divisions on a college or university campus do online learners perceive that they need? • Are online degree seekers receiving all of the student support services that they feel they need?

Abstract: In this exploratory distance mentor/ mentee program implemented fall 2005 at the University of West Georgia , the authors investigated strategies that worked in motivating faculty to put their face-to-face classes online. This paper provides an overview of the program, its successes, problem areas, and tips for administrators to adopt in designing successful distance mentoring programs.

Abstract: The paper commences with a brief summary of the literature on the quality assurance process in e-Learning in higher education. This is followed by an overview of the U21Global quality assurance framework. Within this framework there is particular emphasis on the process governing the appointment (and re-appointment) of adjunct faculty; a process that incorporates four discrete steps: (i) recruitment; (ii) training and accreditation; (iii) supervision and mentoring; and (iv) reflection and performance appraisal. Importantly, the design of the framework ensures that this element of the internal quality assurance process provides, not only an enhanced learning experience for students, but also rich longitudinal data for the purposes of external verification of quality and standards. The paper concludes that while the online environment certainly presents new challenges for tried-and-tested quality assurance processes, it also provides opportunities to usher in new guidelines capable of bringing about a significant improvement in standards. E-Learning and the quality assurance process As e-Learning has gained wider acceptance within the higher education sector (Stella & Gnanam, 2004), it has become increasingly evident that quality assurance guidelines developed for traditional ‘brick-and-mortar' academic programs need to be reassessed and adapted if they are to remain relevant in this new, emerging learning environment (Roffe, 2002). Indeed, quality assurance in higher education is a topic that has received considerable attention of late (O'Neill & Palmer, 2004; Steyn & Schulze, 2003). In the area of e-Learning in higher education, this discussion has been fuelled, to a certain extent, by the e-Learning sceptics. In response, there have been accelerated research efforts to counter this scepticism (see, for example, Attwell et al., 2004; Quilter & Weber, 2004). Many of the functions of an online university are similar to those found in a traditional on-campus setting, and they need to be monitored and evaluated in much the same way. Hence, the successful implementation of quality assurance processes in an online environment requires the same management commitment as in a traditional university setting (Zhao, 2003). There is

Abstract: Distance education has become an important instructional method for institutes of higher learning over the last decade. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2003) , during the 2000-2001 academic year, 56 percent of all 2and 4-year institutions offered distance education courses, and this represents an increase of approximately 34 percent over a three-year period. According to the report, ninety percent of all institutions that offered distance education courses used asynchronous Internet courses as their primary technology for instructional delivery. Faculty development programs have become essential to prepare faculty to teach in the online environment. Institutions often provide training for their faculty by way of faculty development. These faculty development activities can be separated into two distinct areas: 1) how to use the technology needed to teach online and 2) the pedagogy that is specific to the online environment. Often, however, the faculty development activities provided by the institution deal with only the technical aspects of online teaching, and how to use course management programs for course development (Beaudoin, 1990; Palloff & Pratt, 2001) . Support for the use of technology must come from all levels of the administration (Moore & Head, 2003) . This includes providing equipment for faculty to use in offices as well as at home (Lynch, Corry, & Koffenberger, 1999) . Faculty who do not have the appropriate equipment to use may not continue with web-based teaching.

Abstract: Online degree programs are continuing to gain popularity among institutions of higher education as indicated by U.S. News who recently listed 263 accredited online graduate degree programs on its Web site (U. S. News and World Report, U.S. News Online, n.d.) As the access afforded by distance education increases the number of students served, educational institutions must develop processes that ensure quality in their programs (Schott, Chernish, Dooley, & Lindner, 2003). This paper describes the research undertaken to develop an evaluation plan for a fully online graduate degree program. Through a review of the literature and consultations with program administration and faculty, a plan was developed with the purpose of assessing the state of the program in reference to its goals, determining a roadmap for program improvement, and providing a framework for future program decision-making. The purpose of this paper is to document the assessment process to assist program administrators in adapting it for use in their own programs. Although data was collected using extant data, surveys, and interviews, and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative analysis, the results of the analyses are not discussed here. The emphasis of this paper is in the resulting evaluation plan. The theoretical framework, process, methodology, and resulting plan for evaluating the online degree program are described herein. Specifically addressed is how an online master's degree program evaluation was developed and translated into a plan for use by other programs.

Abstract: The idea that distance education lacks intimacy and is therefore inferior is based on an embedded metaphor that sustains a restricted and limiting mental model of ideal instruction. The authors analyze alternative conceptualizations of intimacy, space, and place as factors in the development of effective instructional models. They predict that the traditional instructional model will be increasingly problematic in the face of new and emerging technologies. After a review of a range of factors that will influence the eventual consolidation of new instructional models for higher education, the authors advocate a blending of metaphors and models that will place higher education practitioners in postures of greater flexibility to exploit as yet unidentified opportunities and challenges. “I see nobody on the road,” said Alice . “I only wish I had such eyes,” the King remarked in a fretful tone. “To be able to see Nobody! And at that distance, too!” --Lewis Carrol, Through the Looking Glass Our daily discourse is predicated on the use of metaphors embedded so deeply in our consciousness that frequently we are scarcely aware of the extent to which they influence our mental models and attitudes (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980). Professional discourse and discipline-specific discourse tend to adopt a nucleus of core metaphors in a conceptual network that guides and shapes the mental model that drives professional interchange and inquiry (Fauconnier and Turner, 2002). Mental models derived from conceptual networks may be said to open avenues of inquiry and establish parameters beyond which inquiry may not venture. When the conceptual network is rich with associative possibility, it may be said to have the salutary effect of broadening and deepening inquiry; the conceptual network may also limit inquiry and practice to the set of known associations.

Abstract: Faculty members require training when they first learn how to teach in a specific online format. Such training introduces them to the technical features that will allow an exchange of information, discussions, and course materials and to how to use these features to advance student learning. Since online education can be defined and approached in numerous ways, several terms require definition to set the context for this paper.

Abstract: Distance learning administrators are always looking for ways to balance increasing demands on instructor time, rising expectations from students and faculty for support services, mounting competition, and escalating costs with quality instruction and interaction. Increasingly, programs are responding to these competing interests by appending ancillary resources to course materials and textbooks and by using computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools, e.g., e-mail, online bulletin and discussion boards, blogs, interactive television, and computer conferencing. Yet there is inconclusive evidence that the CMC tools are successful in helping students better learn the course content (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2003). Additionally, although interaction may be increased when students are required to post on discussion boards, the quality of that interaction is often artificial, mechanical, and “noninteractive” rather than sincere and motivated (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2003; Stevens, 2003). One part of the solution to this larger problem, explored by one large distance education program, was the use of part-time tutors hired from the university's undergraduate student population, to offer additional content and motivational support to students enrolled in large enrolling courses.

Abstract: The authors discuss multimedia presentation software ( MPS ) solutions in the context of the growth of Internet-based courses. Representative solutions for creating multimedia course lectures at the desktop and enterprise levels are described and evaluated. The authors suggest criteria to assist in the selection, implementation, and administration of MPS solutions to maximize accessibility and student learning while minimizing expense.

Abstract: Online courses at Bergen Community College (BCC) began in the late 1990's with an imperative from the college President to develop online courses. Senior faculty members who dared to experiment with this new mode of teaching had to learn how to design a course and how to use WebCT, a new course management system, on their own. As these faculty leaders (and those that followed) learned the painful lessons through trial and error, it became obvious that something more was necessary. WebCT training was conducted through faculty office visits so colleagues could share the burden of learning the system. The next step was a series of group workshops on how to use the tools in WebCT, designed and delivered by those same senior faculty members. After seeing a presentation about professional development at the League of Innovations conference, the faculty leadership was responsible for the creation of what would become The Online Professor Program (TOPP). TOPP, a vision of sustained professional development in both the technology and the pedagogy, was designed by faculty for those faculty members who wished to teach online. Support and encouragement was provided by the administration in the person of the Vice President of Technology and Information Services.

Abstract: Although it is often assumed that the larger the bandwidth of the connection to the Internet, the better, few studies have actually been conducted to investigate the impact of various bandwidth connections on student performance in online courses. The goals of this study were to compare student online behaviors under different bandwidth connections and to investigate whether the type of course might be related to the impact of bandwidth for the behaviors. The present findings suggest that, while the use of “dial-up” versus “broadband” was related to some effects of behavioral differences, this relationship was not consistent across courses with different learning tasks. The study suggests that for online courses that are heavily learner-to-learner oriented, special considerations for students using dial-up access be considered. Introduction The increasing use of technologies, such as computers, the Internet, the World Wide Web in higher education, is shaping the current generation of distance learning. Among them, broadband technology has had a great impact on distance education due to its drastic increase in availability and use in the past five years. High speed Internet connection provided by the broadband technology does not only have a significant effect on reducing class time allocated by students searching for information on the Internet, but also provide them with more chances of synergy for knowledge construction by facilitating browsing, scanning, searching, transferring, and comparison of information on Web-based courses, and thus makes more online interactions possible. While the distribution of broadband access has proceeded rapidly, there are still many students taking online classes that are utilizing the dial-up method to access the Web and the online courses. This may be because they cannot pay for the higher cost of broadband or because this service is not available where they live. Accessing an online class at dial-up speeds hampers the delivery of sound, video, and graphics and creates a divide among students. In order to reduce the inequality between bandwidth usages in students’ method of accessing to the online courses, some online course providers restrict their users to only those who can access the course via broadband, whereas others use only text and simple graphics so that the lowest bandwidth can be accommodated. However, most institutions have to embrace the difference while students access to the online courses using either dial-up or broadband. This creates unique learning situations compared to former learning contexts, and at the same time, brings more complexity in educational assessment. To our knowledge, there is almost no research on the impact of bandwidth on student behavior and performance.

Abstract: This paper details one institution's experience developing post disaster online instructional capability without access to the institution's courseware platform and help desk services. In turn, the post disaster distance education lessons learned include the possible need for all institutions to: prearrange an interruption of service agreement with courseware providers for emergency alternative platform capability; add simple course site administrator instructions to the mandated/recommended training for online instructors; evaluate the need for decentralizing courseware platform administration capabilities; and remind online instructors to keep (and/or evacuate with) copies of any teaching materials they would need to recreate their e-learning course sites. Introduction There is an old English fairy tale entitled “Lazy Jack” that tells the story of a young man who was so lazy he only agreed to work when his mother threatened to throw him out of the home they shared. Yet, accordingly to the story, even though Jack began to labor for pay, each day he worked and received pay, he was too lazy (and/or unintelligent) to think about the definitive way to safely carry the type of wage payments he received home. Further, Jack only used the most recent advice he received for how to best carry his wages home and accordingly, since each day he worked he was paid with a different type of wage, Jack ruined each new wage item by applying the wrong lesson learned from the day before. With the story of “Lazy Jack” as a cautionary tale of the limited applicability of past lessons from Hurricane Katrina to future disaster scenarios and planning, this discussion details how University College (the continuing education academic unit at Tulane University that has since been renamed the School of Continuing Studies) utilized a temporary loaner courseware platform to offer online courses during a post disaster mini fall semester. In particular, the experience of developing an online instructional capability without the usual computer systems and help desk services is used to detail the lessons learned that other distance learning academic units may consider when disaster planning. Timeline of a Natural Disaster Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005 , or two days prior to the scheduled start of the fall semester at Tulane University. As part of pre hurricane preparations, Tulane University (with their main campus in New Orleans ) shut down all of their systems including their e-mail, web site, and Blackboard courseware platform systems. After Hurricane Katrina made landfall, a number of the New Orleans levees broke and a majority of the city flooded. In turn, even though the main Uptown campus could have been repaired in time to salvage the fall 2005 semester, owing to the damage from the storm to the infrastructure of the city, Tulane University administrators made an announcement on September 2nd to cancel the regular fall semester on the main campus. At the same time that the main campus would not be open during the balance of the fall 2005 semester, it was determined that two of the satellite campuses used by Tulane's continuing education academic unit, University College, were only minimally damaged. Further, the two minimally damaged satellite campuses—the Elmwood Campus in Harahan, Louisiana and the Biloxi Campus in Biloxi, Mississippi —were in areas of the region that enjoyed a comparatively quick economic rebound. Still, while each of the satellite campuses cited above were fully functional during the period of time being considered for University College's mini fall semester, Tulane's centralized help desk service (for both students and instructors) was not available and Tulane's Blackboard system was only brought back online for instructors to use to retrieve teaching materials. Timeline for Picking-Up the Distant Learning Pieces Post Katrina August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina makes landfall on the Gulf coast. September 2, 2005 The regular fall semester at Tulane University is cancelled. September 9, 2005 After the Elmwood and Biloxi campuses were inspected and deemed safe, discussions on the possibility of holding a mini fall semester (including both face-to-face and online courses) began. September 13, 2005 With the number of both full-time and part-time faculty members interested in continuing to teach online and the Tulane Blackboard system off line, Blackboard, Inc. created an alternative platform space for Tulane as part of their Katrina Relief initiative for all the impacted Gulf Coast institutions. September 23, 2005 University College 's mini fall semester course schedule was posted and students began registering. October 24, 2005 University College 's mini fall semester began and owing to the large number of students still displaced, the 11 online courses that were offered were in high demand. Re-Building an Online Capability Finding a Courseware Platform Given the finding that Tulane's Blackboard server would not be available for student use during the fall semester, it was clear that an alternative course management platform had to be located before online courses could be offered during the planned mini fall semester. Still, an inquiry into alternative systems (like the open source platform Sakai) was never fully investigated since it was quickly discovered that Blackboard, Inc. was making alternative Blackboard environments available to all Gulf Coast institutions impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Accordingly, as part of their Katrina Relief efforts to the entire region, Blackboard, Inc. offered to provide Tulane with an alternative course management system platform. In addition, Blackboard assembled a site with tutorial materials (for faculty members), discussion forums, and a means for linking up Gulf Coast faculty and staff with individuals in different institutions that volunteered to provide mentoring help. Still, given the lack of expertise in the available instructional and administrative staff as well as the tight schedule for bringing the alternative courseware platform online, it was never determined whether the loaner space could have been linked to the Tulane e-mail system that was the first system to be brought back online for full use (or alternatively, to a different e-mail server). Instead, faculty members and students were instructed to self-register with a preferred e-mail address that was then used to create new user IDs for each mini semester registrant. Getting in Touch with Students Prior to Hurricane Katrina, Tulane had established an emergency information telephone number and web site. In turn, the alternative, emergency web site was utilized (through individually developed sub-web pages) by all the different academic units at Tulane, including University College , to maintain contact with students. Again, University College 's satellite campuses sustained minimal damage and resumed limited normal operations—including answering telephone inquiries--during the month of September. The specific communication functions accomplished through the emergency alternative University College web site included a request for all students to forward current contact information, how to get in touch with the College, what courses would be offered during the mini fall semester, how to register for the mini fall semester, etc. Still, in the early days after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, Tulane's e-mail was not back online and it was necessary to compile manual lists of students' alternative e-mail addresses and other contact information. Further, while the regular Tulane Blackboard system only uses student (and faculty) Tulane.edu e-mail addresses, the loaner Blackboard space allowed students to specify an alternative e-mail address. However, since the loaner Blackboard system was not linked to an e-mail server, instructors could not send out e-messages through their course sites. Instructors did have access to the alternative e-mail addresses students had specified when registering for mini semester classes. In addition to the use of the emergency web site, individual students and program administrators utilized list serves and blogs to communicate with students and faculty members. The Online Courses Offered Looking specifically at the online courses to be taught during the mini fall semester, only previously developed asynchronous online courses were considered to be candidates for the abbreviated salvaged fall semester. First, a large enough selection of previously developed online courses (and accompanying instructors) was available to fill up the mini semester schedule. Second, given the limited time available for both the development and execution (the salvaged mini fall semester would utilize the same six-week schedule used for summer school classes), it did not seem likely that faculty normally teaching exclusively in a face-to-face setting would be able to convert their courses to an online format in the time available. Rebuilding Instructor Course Sites from Scratch Although the loaner courseware platform space enabled University College to offer online courses during the mini fall semester, it was the responsibility of the individual instructors to re-build their courses from scratch. Tulane's regular Blackboard platform was eventually brought back online for the sole purpose of instructors being able to retrieve teaching materials (but was not supported through new course creation or with student login help that would enable using the system for course delivery). Platform Administration During a normal semester, University College has access to about 12 individuals in the instructional technology/media/web specialist areas plus the technology support group. In contrast, the set-up and administration of the loaner courseware platform was managed by an experienced online instructor and a technology savvy program administrator. The specific platform administration

Abstract: This study assessed the service quality of United States Sports Academy 's online course curriculum and examined the factors, which affected the students' overall satisfaction of their educational experience with the Academy. The results generated were based on 449 responses (male = 331, female = 118) of the student evaluation survey that were collected from January 1 to August 31, 2004. The evaluation questionnaire contained 41 fixed-variable and 5-point Likert scale items. The student evaluation survey was filled out via electronic method after each student had completed the last unit assignment. The exploratory factor analysis identified five specific service categories, Course Materials (CM), Instructor Traits (IT), Library Resources (LR), Student Services (SS), and Overall Rating (OR) with a total factor loading of 72.3%. Each of the factor categories yielded a reliability coefficient ( a value) greater than .715. The results indicated the male participants perceived to be more satisfied with all of the service categories than females did. The younger participants and students who had taken fewer courses with the Academy tended to have a higher satisfactory rating. The stepwise factor analysis also confirmed both CM and SS were two better predictors of the participants' overall satisfaction. Overall, the participants were fairly satisfied with the service quality of the Academy. In conclusions, more attentions should be drawn to the following areas for improving quality of teaching: (1) fulfilling the students' needs based their characteristics; (2) improving the quality of faculty performance and communication; and (3) facilitating the use the library resources. More directions for improvement of the service quality and future research were further discussed.

Abstract: The University of Virginia's School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS), serves a broad, ethnically diverse and talented community of over 15,000 adult students each year. The SCPS mission is to facilitate lifetime learning by providing educational opportunities of the highest quality so that learners can achieve their personal and professional goals. This mission will be accomplished by developing and delivering University educational programs of the highest quality at times and in places consistent with the needs and interests of our learners.

Abstract: Copyright and fair use laws that regulate educational materials seem to be fairly well understood by the U.S. courts and educators for use in face-to-face (f2f) classrooms (Post and Trempus, 1998). Ever-changing revisions to these laws blur the distinction between tangible and intangible materials shared with students in f2f, online and hybrid courses and must be decided on a case by case basis. As a result, educators face legal and ethical challenges as they take advantage of easy copy and paste tools in the digital medium, particularly if they want to use content from web pages they did not create. Since copying and distribution of digital content is easy, how well can we apply our understanding of these laws, or do we just infringe and ignore the law? This study determined how faculty members at a Research 1 (Carnegie) institute applied their knowledge of copyright/fair use laws to digital course content, and if they were deterred from infringement in the design of their online materials. Background Conventional 1976 U.S. copyright law (17 U.S.C. § 101 through 122) was written to regulate copying, distribution and other uses of tangible materials such as books, journals, plays, artworks, sheet and recorded music, etc. The established portion of the copyright law known as “fair use” applies to handouts and printed materials reproduced for students in face-to-face classrooms. Internet technology offers an intangible medium for sharing information with students that is also covered by copyright laws. Ever-evolving revisions and additions to existing law (Crews, 2002 and 2001) such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA 1998) and the Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH Act 2002) were developed to protect digital content and to refine fair use policies. In this study the researcher examined university faculty members' decisions regarding fair use: to use/not use copied text, images, sounds, animations and video from someone else's web page with or without obtaining copyright permission, to pay/not pay copyright fees, or to ask/not ask for advice from the institution's copyright and fair use specialists. The researcher gathered data via online survey and focus groups. Specific research questions researched were: 1) Did misinterpretation of copyright and fair use law vary across post-secondary educators with regard to department, academic rank, gender, tenure or length of service? and 2) Were post-secondary educators deterred from infringing copyright and fair use policies in developing their online course materials? If so, what was their decision-making process ? Legal Behavior Compliance with any law, including copyright / fair use standards, is based on processes by

Abstract: * Article originally published in: “Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration”, V. 9(2006), n. 4, Winter/Fall, University of West Georgia, Distance Education Center. http://www.westga.edu/ ~distance/ojdla/winter94/ baker94.htm Reprinted with permission. ABSTRACT. This paper presents a model of professional development using collaborative coaching and networking which has been used to improve online instructor effectiveness. Components of the model are presented in the context of a ten-year-old faculty development program at a private university in the South-east. A collaborative coaching checklist is also provided.

Abstract: The number of online degree programs offered by universities, both within the United States and in other countries around the globe, has expanded remarkably from the year 2000 to 2005. Recent research [ Pond (2002), Twigg, (2001), Swail and Kampits (2001), Nielson (1997)] indicates that this rapid expansion has superceded our understanding of how to plan, organize, and evaluate these programs effectively. Currently available frameworks provide general guidelines for creating programs of high quality, but they are not specific enough to be of high value in comprehensively organizing and ensuring a quality online degree program. Hence, the development of a solid and comprehensive framework for benchmarking quality of online degree programs is critical to future program growth and expansion.