Full-Time from Afar

With the dramatic increase in the demand for distance learning opportunities in higher education, staffing demands have created a new opportunity for faculty members to teach full-time from remote locations.  Previously, a significant portion of online instruction was taught by full-time faculty as part of their regular teaching load or as an economic opportunity for teaching “overload” courses.  In addition, online classes are frequently being taught by adjunct, or part-time, faculty members.  Increasingly, however, institutions are now found hiring full-time faculty members with the express intent of assigning them to teach fully online.  Given the nature of asynchronous delivery, some institutions have begun allowing these faculty members to teach from afar.  These non-residential full-time faculty members create a number of issues that affect students, faculty life, and distance learning administrators which must be addressed.  Some ready-made solutions for these issues already exist, but other concerns still require attention.

Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration