Educating Faculty and Senior Administrators: How Online Education Really Works

This paper explores online education’s broad and systemic nature within higher education, involving multiple units, departments and functions across the institution. Educating faculty and senior administrators on the complexities and realities of online learning is critical. Effective online education consists of four primary areas: program and course development, online teaching, student services, and administration. We examined each area to reveal the integrated approach necessary for institutional success. Challenges faced by both faculty and leaders include the lack of knowledge about online learning, and limited implementation resources. We discuss these challenges to illustrate the critical need for comprehensive institutional support for the online learning ecosystem.