This qualitative case study examined the experiences of instructional designers and professors during the online course development process. The purpose of this study was to determine if their experiences had an effect on the process itself. Data analysis revealed five emergent themes: communication, commitment to quality online courses,…

Is distance learning transformational? The author heard this question posed to a panel of faculty members during Distance Education Week activities. After reflecting upon her own students' reaction to her syllabus, her answer to the question changed from an initial, enthusiastic "yes" to a reflective "maybe," given the most favorable environment.…

An internal assessment was conducted utilizing a sociotechnical systems approach and cultural lens as a means of exploring the dynamics of a blended doctoral program. Blended learning environments were conceived of as sociotechnical systems, and blended programs were defined as programs that utilize multimodal means for the mediation of…

Reduced corporate training budgets require cost efficiencies in professional development. Distance learning, with its lower intrinsic costs, will likely become more prevalent. Therefore, the educational experience will change for many professionals. The objective of this study was to examine the perceptions of adult learners attending a drug…

After so many years of invisibility, adult students in higher education have finally begun to come into their own. As a newly discovered marketing niche, adults are seen by budget-driven college administrators as important financial plums. As vocal advocates for their own needs, they have made the issue of access a legitimate consideration in the…

In November 2008 the Sloan Consortium published "Staying the Course: Online Education in the United States." This study produced survey statistics relating to enrollments in online courses. The study confirmed what most administrators and faculty members already suspected: the growth of online higher education continues to be astounding; 3.9…

A well-designed online course can provide opportunities for active learning, creative thinking, and knowledge construction with high levels of student satisfaction. The latest Babson/Sloan survey on online education, however, shows that approximately one-third of the chief academic officer participants still consider online education inferior to…

From the early 1990s to present, the practice of cohort-based learning has been on the rise in colleges, universities, organizations, and even some K-12 programs across the nation. This type of learning model uses the power of the interpersonal relationships to enhance the learning process and provide additional support to the cohort members as…

We propose, develop, and evaluate the black ink-red ink (BIRI) method of testing. This approach uses two different methods within the same test administration setting, one that matches recognition learning and the other that matches recall learning. Students purposively define their own tradeoff between the two approaches. Evaluation of the method…

This study identified factors associated with the decision to enroll in a higher education degree program. In the context of predicting enrollment in a workforce development credentialing program, this study identified six variables that are strongly related to the likelihood to enroll: time out of school; possibilities for intellectual, personal,…

The paradigm shift to engaged and collaborative learning delivered via distance education technologies has been led by practitioners in adult and continuing education. Online and blended courses are experiencing increased demand and continued growth at all levels of higher education, professional development, and K-12 education. Adult and…

Distance education is a very popular and intriguing area in the present realm of education. Institutions of higher learning throughout the United States and around the world are quickly embracing distance education to serve thousands of students. This literature review of the foundations of technology distance education culminates in the year…

This article discusses how faculty members feel about the growth and quality of distance, distributed, and online higher education. The twenty-first century university must innovate to survive as the Internet becomes the dominant source of knowledge and learning. The twenty-first century student connects with information differently than earlier…

In distance education and online learning, the exponential growth of programs and the need for instructors has forced proper analysis of instructor teaching and learning to the background. To meet the immediate needs of students and technical operations, distance learning institutions often fail to evaluate how well instructors follow needed…

Many people are finding themselves in the middle of a messy muddle these days. Faced with budget cuts and the challenge of extending the reach of the institution to increase enrollments, people are in the classic do-more-with-less situation. In this article, the author discusses how distance-education programs can rapidly grow with limited…