Dive Brief:
- Most faculty members with online teaching experience believe that online courses are inferior to traditional courses, as judged by course results, according to Inside Higher Ed and Gallup's “Survey of Faculty Attitudes on Technology."
- Almost all faculty members and technology administrators responding to the survey said that meaningful student-teacher interaction is missing from most online courses.
- Only 26% of the faculty members who responded to the survey believe that online courses produce results that are just as good as face-to-face courses.
Dive Insight:
The survey, administered in August and September, included responses from 2,799 faculty members and 288 academic technology administrators. Among other findings: Faculty members “overwhelmingly” oppose hiring third parties to manage any part of online course operation, Inside Higher Ed reports. Also, 52% of tenured faculty say that online courses are inferior to traditional courses. Humanities instructors were the most negative toward online courses, with 54% believing that online courses don’t produce examples equal to face-to-face courses, followed by social sciences faculty at 51%, and engineering, biological, and physical sciences instructors at 46%.