A collective case study analysis of faculty perceptions of and experiences with distance learning institutional policies and their effects on the faculty role

Distance learning, in particular the online segment, has continued to gain in popularity and has seen significant increases in enrollment that far exceed increases in total enrollment. As institutions continue to explore distance learning as a means to increase enrollment, meet the needs of non-traditional students, and provide multiple delivery modes, careful consideration must be given to guarantee that institutional policies evolve when change is necessary. Institutional instructional policies, while specific to a particular institution, outline the expectations and guidelines that govern faculty including intellectual property, faculty workload, and the course evaluation process. Policies and practices of an institution should be adapted to incorporate innovations like distance learning.
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore community college faculty perceptions of and experiences with distance learning institutional policies. The collective case study focused on perceptions of how institutional instructional policies have evolved with respect to distance learning. Additionally, insight into how faculty viewed their role in the establishment of instructional policies and how faculty members gauged their institution’s commitment to online instruction was examined. This qualitative study utilized a collective case study design. The setting for this study was two rural-serving public community colleges located in Texas. The participants were eight purposefully selected community college faculty members, four from each institution, who taught online and were familiar with their institution’s instructional policies at the time of the study. Data collection for this study was conducted through semi-structured interviews, field notes, and institutional documents. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Data analysis was conducted through the constant comparative method to identify themes using three levels of coding: open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. Once coding was completed, field notes of observations and institutional documents were used to triangulate the emerging themes and support the findings. In addition, trustworthiness of the study was ensured by measures to address credibility, dependability, transferability, and confirmability. The findings of the study support that the participants acknowledged institutional instructional policies provide holistic guidelines regardless of the mode of delivery and that online learning has evolved as a result of technology advances and a cultural change within the students taking online courses. While the findings showed that the participants lack an accurate understanding of the instructional policies, participants did not perceive that policies created barriers for online faculty but that online courses do require more time for initial setup and to facilitate student/instructor interaction. Additionally, the participants agreed that faculty had a voice which played an important role in the establishment of instructional policies. Finally, the participants suggested that institutions support online instruction through the professional development provided for online instructors and the scheduling flexibility online offerings provide for their students. The results of this study suggest several implications and recommendations for higher education practice. Community colleges have a challenge to meet the scheduling needs of students. By offering online learning for students, community colleges are providing many students with access to a college education who would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend college. Faculty who are expected to implement new technology and teach online need to have adequate training. Institutions must provide training to help faculty attain the skills needed to teach online. Failure to do so will result in faculty who are unprepared to teach online. As technology advances, institutions must work to ensure that instructional policies are adapted to continue to universally address the all modes of delivery or run the risk of creating barriers for faculty. Faculty who are not familiar with instructional policy will tend to do what seems appropriate to them. If institutions do not ensure that faculty know, understand, and follow institutional instructional policies, institutions are being left open for possible legal and academic controversies. As instructional policies are established, failure of incorporate the opinions of the faculty involved will result in a lack of faculty buy-in.
The findings of this study lead to additional needs for future research. These include an examination of a how community colleges ensure faculty understand and adhere to instructional policies, a comparison of instructional methods of differing modes of course delivery, and an exploration of the time requirements to facilitate engaging student interaction.

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