Lauryl A. Lefebvre, Ph.D.Indiana University

lef@indiana.eduOctober 30, 2009

Sloan-C

Faculty orientation, development, and support in virtual

university settings

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

Purpose

Study Background Theoretical Framework Research Questions Methodology Select Findings Implications for Practice Future Research

Outline

Foundations16%

Intl.7%

Editorial 10%

Course-level42%

admin.15%

faculty6%

evaluation5%

1986 - 2001 Journal of Distance Edu-cation

Content Analysis

Research Gap at Policy-level

SOURCE: Rourke & Szabo (2002)Course-level: technology and media (16%), instructional design

(13%), learner characteristics (12%), and student support services (15%).

Foundations5% Intl.

2%Editorial

14%

Course-level55%

admin.9%

faculty5%

evaluation11%

2002 - 2008

Course-level: technology and media (13%), instructional design (21%), learner characteristics (13%), and student support services (9%).

1970

1974

1979

1983

1987

1994

1998

2002

2006

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Year

% o

f Par

t-tim

e Fa

culty

Part-time Faculty Usage at U.S. Postsecondary Institutions

SOURCES: Snyder, Dillow, & Hoffman (2009)

8

9

Teaching

• faculty hiring• student admissions

decisions• curriculum development• course design/development• course delivery• evaluation and assessment

Research • Knowledge Generation

Service • Institution, Region, Profession

Typical P-T Virtual Faculty Roles

#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?

Research Questions

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

Significance

Part-time campus-based faculty

Distance campus-based faculty

Virtual faculty

Literature Review

SOURCE: Maslow (1943)

Theoretical FrameworkSelf-actualization

Self-esteem

Belonging

Safety

Physiological

- a positive emotional response resulting from an appraisal of the job in fulfillment of an individual’s values

SOURCE: Locke, 1984

Object

Cognition

Value Appraisal

Emotion

sensory perception

conceptual identification+=

Job Satisfaction

Maslow (1949)

Alderfer (1969)

Herzberg (1966)

Hygiene

Self-actualizationSelf-esteemSocial

Existence

SecurityPhysiological

Motivator

Relatedness Growth

SOURCE: Ronen (1994)

Hygiene factors → Dissatisfaction (when absent) or No Dissatisfaction (when present)

Motivator factors → Satisfaction (when present) or No Satisfaction (when absent)

Existence Needs

PrivacyJob

Security

Workload

Flextime

PayBenefits

Support

MethodologyN. Alberta (2)

StructuredQuestionnair

e

Closed-endedResponses

Open-endedResponses

Excel SPSS

Semi-structuredInterviews

Interim DataAnalysis

InformsInforms

Transcripts

FinalAnalysis

NVivo

Import of Demographic

s

RQ#1: Faculty Profile

1Sources: Chronister, Baldwin, & Conley (1997), Conley & Leslie (2002), and Forrest, Cataldi, Fahimi, & Bradburn (2005).

Study Samplen = 39

Bricks-and-Mortar1wt. 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%

Satisfaction Scores

n Mean Std. Error

Std. Dev.

Cronbach's

Alpha

General 32 72.84 2.719 15.38 0.938Intrinsic 37 38.95 1.217 7.41 0.880Extrinsic 35 22.09 1.210 7.16 0.906

RQ#2: Job Satisfaction

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).

Average of means: 2.751 – Very Dissatisfied, 2 – Somewhat dissatisfied, 3 – Somewhat satisfied, 4 – Very satisfiedGroup A: Very Dissatisfied/ Somewhat Dissatisfied; Group B: Somewhat Satisfied/ Very Satisfied

RQ#2 Existence (Hygiene) Needs

Employment Motivator Mean S.D.

Benefits 1.23 .627Salary 1.64 .811Online teaching experience 2.38 1.138Part-time nature of work 3.18 .942Ability to set own hours 3.32 .809

1 – No influence, 2 – Some influence, 3 – Influential, and 4 – Great influence.

Existence Factors

n Mean S.D. Group A

Group B B – A

rate of pay 39 2.03 0.873 1.64 2.18 0.54

benefits 35 2.31 1.132 1.91 2.50 0.59

orientation 37 2.49 1.070 2.40 2.52 0.12

teaching support 39 2.56 1.021 2.18 2.71 0.53

technical support 38 2.68 0.842 2.50 2.75 0.25

workload 39 2.77 0.931 2.18 3.00 0.82

security 37 2.78 1.031 2.64 2.85 0.21

privacy 38 3.47 0.725 3.18 3.59 0.41

flextime 37 3.70 0.618 3.36 3.85 0.49

Orientation Support ServicesProf. Development

R#3: Working ConditionsOrientation 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.

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 reports 2.97 0.944

Institutional mission 3.21 0.991

Organizational culture 3.24 0.943

Policies clarification 3.50 0.647

Teaching philosophy 3.58 0.722Faculty 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.

Professional Development Method Mean S.D.

3- and 5-day short courses offered by outside educational vendors 2.03 1.038Faculty exchange program with other virtual institutions 2.33 1.060

Release time/sabbatical 2.53 1.224

Web conferences 2.62 0.990

Professional association memberships 2.69 1.030Face-to-face workshops offered by institution 2.95 0.972

Faculty retreat 3.03 1.013

Teaching and learning professional staff 3.21 0.978

Conference travel stipends 3.44 0.912

Course platform management

Student advising

Group discussion forum facilitation

Assessment (course + student)

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.

Identify reflection opportunities focused on

teaching strategies and outcomes assessment

Embed just-in-time IT and library services in

the virtual space

Serv.

Orient

P. Dev.

Foster peer-to-peer interactions for

cross-fertilization of ideas and

reduction of faculty isolation

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.

Review

Maslow (1949)

Alderfer (1969)

Herzberg (1966)

Hygiene

Self-actualizationSelf-esteemSocial

Existence

SecurityPhysiological

Motivator

Relatedness Growth

SOURCE: Ronen (1994)

Research GapPart-time Faculty TrendsTheoretical FrameworkRQ#1: Demographic ProfileRQ#2: Job SatisfactionRQ#3: Working Conditions – Support

Questions?

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.

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.

References

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.