Faculty Perceptions Related to Teaching Online: A Starting Point for Designing Faculty Development Initiatives

To design and deliver meaningful professional development programs for faculty who teach online, the unit responsible for these activities should have a clear idea of what content participants might find most beneficial to their practice, as well as what can improve instructor and student satisfaction. Using an online survey, this study explored the perceptions of 314 faculty members at a mid-southern university as they relate to the online environment and institutional factors, personal factors, and student engagement and active learning. Faculty reported high levels of satisfaction with the accessibility of their courses and the technical support they receive, but reported lower levels of satisfaction with the effectiveness of online communication tools. The results also revealed a significant difference in how faculty rated their satisfaction with student engagement and active learning based on their level of experience, indicating that alternative approaches to faculty development might be necessary for those new to online teaching and learning.