This pilot study was conducted in order to explore factors that facilitate and inhibit the teaching of online courses from an administrative perspective. A random sample of community college and public and private universities was selected, and administrators working closely in online education were invited to participate. A qualitative…

University administrators who have distance learning programs under their charge are on the horns of a dilemma. Given the growing litigiousness of copyright holders and the unsettled state of the law, it has become very difficult to establish failsafe administrative rules to guide faculty and student use of copyrighted materials. But the use of…

Post secondary education leaders and administrators are currently facing two separate but inter-related trends: the growth in online education, and the significant increase in adjunct (part-time) faculty. In order to maximize the educational quality and institutional effectiveness, education leaders must develop an approach that levers the…

Although the advent of online learning has revolutionized the delivery of education, from the average student's perspective there have been few radical innovations in the general administration of pure online courses since their inception. With some exceptions the scheduling of online courses generally aligns with the university calendar, while…

This paper will address how the digital divide affects distance education. Lack of access for some students does raise concerns. Access to technology is often defined by what students don't have: what is called a digital divide. Access also is defined by the speed of Internet connections. Access in the future will be even greater as more computers…

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key elements of a High Performance Work System (HPWS) and explore the possibility of implementation in an online institution of higher learning. With the projected rapid growth of the demand for online education and its importance in post-secondary education, providing high quality curriculum, excellent…

Many universities are struggling to meet student demand for quality online course offerings. As an online program grows, it can become more difficult to manage information, resources, and people. Adopting useful knowledge management tools, such as wikis, could help better position an online program in a competitive marketplace. Wikis promote…

Over the past ten years, a significant increase in courses and programs taught through distance education technologies has occurred both in non-for-profit and for-profit colleges and universities. During this time, there have been many successes and failures. The researchers hypothesize that the marginal success and/or failure occurs due to…

Traditional colleges who have implemented distance education programs would benefit from using instructional design processes to develop their courses. Instructional design processes provide the framework for designing and delivering quality online learning programs in a highly-competitive educational market. Traditional college leaders play a…

This article surveys research in the areas of aesthetics and design, usability, visual aesthetics in education, and recent statistics related to online education. The focus of the article is on defining the role of visual content and aesthetics in the user interface and exploring what importance aesthetics and visual content have to education.…

Student demand for online education requires colleges and universities to rapidly expand the number of courses and programs offered online while maintaining high quality. This paper outlines two universities respective processes to assure quality in large-scale online programs that integrate instructional design, eBook custom publishing, Quality…

This paper details the advantages of creating a strategic plan in the development and delivery of distance programs at the authors' own institution. The steps involved in the planning process and the three key elements of a successful strategic plan are addressed. The key elements include a program plan explaining the roles/responsibilities of…

The WebBSIT, a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, is a fully online degree offered through a consortium of five University System of Georgia institutions. This paper begins by summarizing the change management system developed for continuous program improvement. Analysis of data should drive improvement, closing the loop. The balance…

The WebBSIT, a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, is a fully online degree offered through a consortium of five University System of Georgia institutions. This paper begins by describing the evolution of the WebBSIT and the results of an insightful vision that placed an emphasis on developing a curriculum rather than just a set of…

Institutions offering distance education courses and programs may benefit by encouraging administrators, faculty, staff and students to be more entrepreneurial. Organizational cultures designed to support this type of environment are characterized by entrepreneurial leadership, innovation and change. This article provides information on how…