From: "Swisher, Bob" <bswisher@ou.edu>
To: "'it-fyi@listserv.ou.edu'" <it-fyi@lists.ou.edu>
Subject: it-fyi: On-Line Programs & Management Educators (Chron of Higher
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 13:38:48 -0500
Wednesday, April 21, 1999
On-Line Programs Face Faculty Resistance, Management Educators Say
By KATHERINE S. MANGAN
Atlanta
As business schools have joined the stampede toward on-line and other
distance-education courses, some faculty members are being dragged along
reluctantly, say management educators assembled here this week.
Even if they welcome the idea of making courses accessible to a wider
audience, many business professors complain that distance courses take
longer to prepare and won't help them get tenure, according to several
of the speakers who have addressed the annual meeting of the
International Association for Management Education. And other professors
question the educational quality of courses that offer students little
or no face-to-face contact with their teachers or classmates.
For the most part, however, management educators here are upbeat about
the growing impact that technology is having on business schools. More
than 1,000 educators from 30 countries are attending the conference,
which has focused on distance education, on-line M.B.A. programs, and
other examples of what the association calls "the technology revolution
in management education." The conference ends today.
But several speakers have noted that the opportunities that technology
presents -- such as higher enrollments and increasing revenues -- also
bring new challenges. While many faculty members are effectively
integrating technology into their teaching, some speakers said, others
are uncomfortable -- particularly with distance courses.
"People who have been very effective in leading group discussions in
class may freeze up in a technological environment," said Edward M.
Neal, director of faculty development of the Center for Teaching and
Learning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
And tenure-and-promotion committees don't always share a dean's
enthusiasm for distance learning, and in many cases the committees are
unlikely to reward time spent developing on-line courses, some speakers
said. "There's a lot of interest in developing Web-based courses, but
our younger faculty won't go near it because of the tenure hurdle,"
complained one educator.
Both the American Federation of Teachers and the American Association of
University Professors have issued reports within the last month
questioning the effectiveness of distance learning. "People who say
there's no difference between distance and traditional degrees are being
intellectually dishonest," said Jamie Horwitz, a spokesman for the
A.F.T., in an interview Tuesday. The A.F.T. has more than 100,000
higher-education members.
The A.A.U.P. maintains that professors should be paid more for teaching
on-line courses than for conventional courses because the former take
more time to prepare. The union also says that faculty members preparing
to teach on line should also be given a lighter course load the previous
semester to prepare for such courses.
Background stories from The Chronicle:
"The Marketing Intensifies in Distance Learning," 4/9/99
"Studies of Distance Education Are Mostly 'Questionable,' Report Says,"
4/7/99
"Union Cites Guido Sarducci in Ad Campaign Aimed at Distance Education,"
4/5/99
Copyright © 1999 by The Chronicle of Higher Education