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Sloan09 Lauryl A Lefebvre
1. Faculty orientation,
development, and
support in virtual
university settings
Lauryl A. Lefebvre, Ph.D.
Indiana University
lef@indiana.edu
October 30, 2009
Sloan-C
2. Purpose
1. To examine the demographics and
job satisfaction of part-time faculty at
for-profit virtual universities
2. To review their institutional support
preferences with respect to:
› Orientation topics and delivery methods
› Professional development resources
› Support services
3. Outline
Study Background
Theoretical Framework
Research Questions
Methodology
Select Findings
Implications for Practice
Future Research
4. Research Gap at Policy-level
1986 - 2001 Journal of Distance Education
Content Analysis
faculty
Course-level 6%
41%
Policy-level
25% admin.
15%
Editorial
10% evaluation
Intl. Foundations 5%
7% 16%
SOURCE: Rourke & Szabo (2002)
Course-level: technology and media (16%), instructional design
(13%), learner characteristics (12%), and student support services (15%).
5. 2002 - 2008
evaluation
11%
faculty
5%
Course-level
55% Policy-level
25%
admin.
9%
Editorial Intl. Foundations
13% 2% 5%
Course-level: technology and media (13%), instructional design
(21%), learner characteristics (13%), and student support services (9%).
6. Part-time Faculty Usage at U.S.
Postsecondary Institutions
60
50
% of Part-time Faculty
40
30
20
10
0
1970 1977 1984 1991 1998 2005
Year
SOURCES: Snyder, Dillow, & Hoffman (2009)
10. Typical P-T Virtual Faculty Roles
• faculty hiring
• student admissions decisions
• curriculum development
Teaching
• course design/development
• course delivery
• evaluation and assessment
Research • Knowledge Generation
Service • Institution, Region, Profession
11. Research Questions
#1. Faculty Profile.
What is the demographic and employment profile of
part-time virtual faculty?
#2. Job Satisfaction.
What is their job satisfaction? Are they more
intrinsically motivated or extrinsically motivated?
#3. Working Conditions.
What are their working conditions? Do these
conditions meet their expectations?
12. Significance
contributes to the research gap on faculty
attitudes with virtual workplace
provides insight on working conditions that
contribute to faculty satisfaction,
engagement and retention
guides administrators in the design of
university and program policies
15. Job Satisfaction
- a positive emotional
response resulting
from an appraisal of
Object the job in fulfillment of
an individual’s values
Cognition
sensory conceptual
= perception + identification
Value Appraisal
Emotion
SOURCE: Locke, 1984
16. Hygiene Motivator
Herzberg (1966)
Hygiene factors → Dissatisfaction (when absent)
or No Dissatisfaction (when present)
Existence Relatedness Growth Alderfer (1969)
Motivator factors → Satisfaction (when present)
or No Satisfaction (when absent)
Self-
Physiological Security Social Self-esteem
actualization Maslow (1949)
SOURCE: Ronen (1994)
17. Privacy
Support
Job
Security
Existence
Needs
Pay Workload
Benefits
Flextime
20. Excel SPSS
Interim Data
Analysis
Informs Informs
Semi-structured
Interviews
21. Transcripts
Import of
Demographics
NVivo
Final
Analysis
22. RQ#1: Faculty Profile
Study Sample Bricks-and-Mortar1
n = 39 wt. n = 416
Gender (M-to-F) 56:44 52:48
Mean age (yrs) 57 46
Terminal degree 90% 26%
Employment tenure (yrs) 6 6
Appointment as primary 24% 23%
Employed elsewhere 90% n.a.
- # of outside jobs 1.5 1.7
- full-time positions 42% 64%
Retired professional 26% n.a.
Expected retirement >70 yrs 59% 10.7%
1Sources: Chronister, Baldwin, & Conley (1997), Conley & Leslie (2002), and Forrest, Cataldi, Fahimi, & Bradburn (2005).
23. RQ#2: Job Satisfaction
Satisfaction n Mean Std. Error Std. Dev. Cronbach's
Scores Alpha
General 32 72.84 2.719 15.38 0.938
Intrinsic 37 38.95 1.217 7.41 0.880
Extrinsic 35 22.09 1.210 7.16 0.906
Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) response options for 20-item
short form: 1 = Very dissatisfied, 2 = Dissatisfied, 3 = Neutral, 4 =
Satisfied, and 5 = Very satisfied (Vocational Psychology Research, 1977).
24. RQ#2 Existence (Hygiene) Needs
Existence n Mean S.D. Group A Group B B–A
Factors
rate of pay 39 2.03 0.873 1.64 2.18 0.54
Employment35
benefits Motivator
2.31 1.132 Mean
1.91 2.50 S.D. 0.59
orientation 37 2.49 1.070 2.40 2.52 0.12
Benefits
teaching 1.23 .627
39 2.56 1.021 2.18 2.71 0.53
support
Salary
technical 1.64 .811
38 2.68 0.842 2.50 2.75 0.25
support
Online teaching experience 2.38 1.138
workload 39 2.77 0.931 2.18 3.00 0.82
Part-time nature of work 3.18 .942
security 37 2.78 1.031 2.64 2.85 0.21
Ability to set own hours 3.32 .809
privacy 38 3.47 0.725 3.18 3.59 0.41
flextime No influence, 2 – Some influence, 3 – Influential, and 4 – Great influence.
1– 37 3.70 0.618 3.36 3.85 0.49
Average of means: 2.75
1 – Very Dissatisfied, 2 – Somewhat dissatisfied, 3 – Somewhat satisfied, 4 – Very satisfied
Group A: Very Dissatisfied/ Somewhat Dissatisfied; Group B: Somewhat Satisfied/ Very Satisfied
25. Orientation Support Services
Prof. Development
26. R#3: Working Conditions
Orientation Method Mean S.D.
Online instructor certification courses 2.22 1.058
Newcomers web conferences 2.63 0.942
Newcomers face-to-face workshops 2.84 1.093
Tutorials (self-paced) 2.89 0.924
Faculty handbook 3.00 1.013
Peer mentoring 3.26 0.685
Questionnaire response options for part-time virtual faculty sample: 1 – Not
Important, 2 – Somewhat important, 3 – Important and 4 – Very important.
27. Orientation Topic Mean S.D.
Alumni updates 1.97 1.102
Institutional history 2.66 1.072
Student demographics 2.84 1.027
Institutional performance progress
2.97 0.944
reports
Institutional mission 3.21 0.991
Organizational culture 3.24 0.943
Policies clarification 3.50 0.647
Teaching philosophy 3.58 0.722
Faculty resources 3.71 0.515
Questionnaire response options for part-time virtual faculty sample: 1 – Not
Important, 2 – Somewhat important, 3 – Important and 4 – Very important.
28. Professional Development Method Mean S.D.
3- and 5-day short courses offered by
2.03 1.038
outside educational vendors
Faculty exchange program with other
2.33 1.060
virtual institutions
Release time/sabbatical 2.53 1.224
Web conferences 2.62 0.990
Professional association memberships 2.69 1.030
Face-to-face workshops offered by
2.95 0.972
institution
Faculty retreat 3.03 1.013
Teaching and learning professional staff 3.21 0.978
Conference travel stipends 3.44 0.912
29. Course platform
management
Student advising
Group discussion forum
facilitation
Assessment (course +
student)
30. Support Service Mean S.D.
Multimedia design 2.82 1.023
Andragogical assistance 2.92 0.997
Live concierge helpdesk 3.26 0.993
Librarian 3.38 0.815
Information technology 3.79 0.469
Questionnaire response options for part-time virtual faculty sample: 1 – Not
Important, 2 – Somewhat important, 3 – Important and 4 – Very important.
31. Foster peer-to-peer
Identify reflection
Embed just-in-time IT
andopportunities in
interactions for
library services
cross-fertilization of
focused on
the virtual space
ideas and reduction
teaching strategies
of and outcomes
faculty isolation
assessment
32. Review
Virtual universities have attracted an older and more
experienced/educated workforce.
Work need theories provides a basis for examination
of faculty work attitudes.
WASC virtual faculty are intrinsically motivated.
The existence needs of faculty orientation,
development, and support were not dissatisfiers for
WASC faculty.
34. Questions?
Research Gap
Part-time Faculty Trends
Theoretical Framework
RQ#1: Demographic Profile
RQ#2: Job Satisfaction
RQ#3: Working Conditions – Support
See also: Lefebvre, L.A. (2008). Demographics, roles, and
employment motivations of part-time faculty at virtual universities. In
N. Van Note Chism (ed.), Faculty at the margins, New Directions in
Higher Education (no. 143, pp. 37-44), San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.
35. References
Chronister, J. L., Baldwin, R. G., & Conley, V. M. (1997). Retirement and other
departure plans of instructional faculty and staff in higher education
institutions. (Report No. NCES 98-254), Washington, DC: National Center
for Education Statistics.
Conley, V. M., & Leslie, D. W. (2002). Part-time instructional faculty and staff:
Who they are, what they do, and what they think. (Report No. NCES
2002-163), Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Forrest Cataldi, E., Fahimi, M., Bradburn, E. M. , & Zimbler, L. (2005). 2004
National study of postsecondary faculty (NSOPF:04): Report on faculty
and instructional staff in Fall 2003 (Report No. NCES 2005-172).
Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Locke, E. A. (1984). Job satisfaction. In M. M. Gruneberg, & T. D. Wall
(Eds.), Social psychology and organizational behaviour (pp. 93-117).
Chichester, England: Wiley.
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological
Review, 50(4), 370-396.
Ronen, S. (1994). An underlying structure of motivational need taxonomies: A
cross-cultural confirmation. In H. C. Triandis, M. D. Dunnette, & L. M.
Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology
(2nd ed., Vol. 4, pp. 241-269). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists
Press.
36. Rourke, L., & Szabo, M. (2002). A content analysis of the Journal of Distance
Education, 1986-2001. Journal of Distance Education, 17(1), 63-74.
Snyder, T. D., Dillow, S. A., & Hoffman, C. M. (2009). Digest of education
statistics 2008. (Report No. NCES 2009-020). Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Education.
Vocational Psychology Research. (1977). Minnesota satisfaction questionnaire
(short-form ed.). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota.
