ERIC Number: EJ1155448
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1536-3759
EISSN: N/A
Characteristics of Part-Time Online Instructors: A Comparison of For-Profit to Nonprofit Faith-Based Institutions
Starcher, Keith O.
Christian Higher Education, v16 n5 p303-318 2017
As the for-profit business model and a reliance on adjunct faculty continues to grow among faith-based institutions, little research exists on the differences in the characteristics of part-time online faculty in for-profit versus nonprofit environments that could provide guidance to administrators. This study utilized a descriptive, nonexperimental survey design employing the chi-squared test (?2) as a statistical tool to analyze the categorical data. This descriptive exploratory study compares part-time online faculty in for-profit and nonprofit environments based on results from a convenience sample of 1,034 online instructors from 19 faith-based institutions in the United States. Information presented in this paper includes demographic characteristics, types of students served, religious commitment, course logistics, and student-instructor interaction. Part-time online instructors from for-profit or nonprofit faith-based institutions were similar in several personal characteristics such as age and household income, as well as in their motivation to become a part-time online instructor. However, there also were several statistically significant differences noted, most notably their religious commitment (?[superscript 2][40, N = 1,034] = 111.93, p < 0.001; Cramer's V = 0.329) and religious affiliation (?[superscript 2][20, N = 1,028] = 107.59, p < 0.001; Cramer's V = 0.324). Recommendations for faith-based institutions of higher learning by type included increasing the diversity of instructors at nonprofit institutions, screening applicants for mission fit at for-profit institutions, and increasing compensation at both types of institutions.
Descriptors: Teacher Characteristics, Part Time Faculty, Web Based Instruction, Online Courses, Comparative Analysis, Private Colleges, Public Colleges, Church Related Colleges, Teacher Surveys, Statistical Analysis, Statistical Significance, Religious Factors, Adjunct Faculty, Likert Scales, Job Satisfaction, Christianity
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A