Adjunct faculty participation in the centralized design of online courses

This literature-based study seeks to identify best practices for adjunct faculty participation in the centralized design of online courses. Literature from 2014–June 2018 relating to faculty participation in course and curriculum design was identified through a search of the ERIC database. Following further examination, nine studies were selected for analysis. These were analyzed within the framework of participative decision-making, by identifying whether participation was format or informal, direct or indirect, long-term or short-term, and high or low access/influence. Findings indicate that faculty participation in course design takes place in a variety of ways and is frequently accompanied by faculty learning and development initiatives. For adjunct faculty, it is particularly important to create a variety of opportunities that meet their willingness and ability to participate. Though online courses, centralized design, and adjunct faculty are each discussed in some of the selected studies, no studies were identified that specifically addressed adjunct faculty participation in the centralized design of online courses. As this context is likely to be important in the future of higher education, further study of effective approaches is recommended.Adjunct Faculty Participation in the Centralized Design of Online Courses Sarah Felber University of M aryland Global Campus sarah.felber@umuc.edu Abstract This literature-based study seeks to identify best practices for adjunct faculty participation in the centralized design of online courses. Literature from 2014–June 2018 relating to faculty participation in course and curriculum design was identified through a search of the ERIC database. Following further examination, nine studies were selected for analysis. These were analyzed within the framework of participative decision-making, by identifying whether participation was format or informal, direct or indirect, long-term or short-term, and high or low access/influence. Findings indicate that faculty participation in course design takes place in a variety of ways and is frequently accompanied by faculty learning and development initiatives. For adjunct faculty, it is particularly important to create a variety of opportunities that meet their willingness and ability to participate. Though online courses, centralized design, and adjunct faculty are each discussed in some of the selected studies, no studies were identified that specifically addressed adjunct faculty participation in the centralized design of online courses. As this context is likely to be important in the future of higher education, further study of effective approaches is recommended. Introduction The scaling up of online education may be accompanied by increasing unbundling of the faculty role, such that adjunct faculty are hired to teach courses that they had no hand in constructing. While this model has benefits and may be necessary in large-scale operations, it also raises questions regarding how adjunct faculty, as employees and as users of an educational product (the centrally designed online course), can and should be involved in its creation and improvement. This literature-based investigation addresses best practices for working with adjunct faculty who teach centrally designed online courses in higher education, in order to support administrators in having a well-considered plan for collaborating with adjunct faculty on course design, which will contribute to a well-functioning academic program and a successful learning experience for students. This work will be useful to administrators of online higher education courses, including deans, department and program chairs, and course coordinators. The overarching research question, “What are the best practices for fostering effective course design and teaching in centrally designed online courses taught by adjunct faculty?”, is addressed within the theoretical framework of participative decision-making. Review of Literature Course Design Dubin and Olshtain (1986/2000) describe course design as “the planning of courses and the writing of materials” (p. 1). “Curriculum development” is a related term, sometimes used interchangeably with “course design” (Posner & Rudnitsky, 1994). Whetten (2007) refers to the process of “designing ‘significant learning experiences’” (p. 339), focusing on the selection of learning outcomes, activities, and assessments. Often, a course designer will not only plan courses and create materials, but also work to measure the effectiveness of those plans and materials, and make corresponding adjustments. The closely related term “instructional design” has roots in military training and focuses on analyzing systems to produce education and training programs through a consistent process (Gustafson & Branch, 2002). Most modern instructional design models are variations of the ADDIE model, including the five components Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate (Molenda, 2003). The Evaluate step reflects the iterative nature of the instructional design process. In higher education. There is a high degree of variation in the process for planning and creating courses in higher education. This activity may be referred to as “course design,” “instructional design,” or simply “planning,” depending on the person engaging in the activity and the formality of the process. The term “course design” will heretofore be used to refer to any variation of this process. One way in which the course design process can vary is in the degree to which it is a centralized activity, controlled by organizational units higher than the individual class level. The traditional western college model places much of the course design responsibility in the hands of the individual instructor (Fyle, Moseley, & Hayes, 2012). In a 1994 briefing paper on faculty work, the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board described faculty teaching work as including not only classroom instruction, but also design, update, and revision of the courses that they teach. Paris (2013) observed that this model is now most visible in the liberal arts college. While the instructor may have to work within certain college-level, department-level, or program-level constraints, he or she typically retains a great deal of latitude in the selection of course materials, learning activities, and assessments (Paris, 2013). Viewing course design in terms of the ADDIE model, the instructor is responsible not only for the implementation component, but also for the analysis, design, development, and evaluation. This approach can be called a decentralized model of course design. In a centralized course design model, greater control over and uniformity of materials, activities, and assessments are imposed at the college, department, or program level. Paris (2013) noted that the centralization of course design has increased, with “many of the things faculty members used to do—course design, selection of materials, creation of assignments, and assessment…increasingly being organized by administrators and specialists” (para. 1). In distance education. The provision of a single set of course materials to a large number of students is common in distance education, with this model used heavily by single-mode distance education institutions before the advent of online learning (Guri-Rosenblit, 2009). While online learning allows more interaction between teachers and learners than distance learning based on earlier technologies, the central-course-design model has remained relevant. Callan, Ewell, Finney, and Jones (2007) cited the UK’s Open University as an example of this model for online learning, with central design of course content and assessments that are then deployed by multiple teaching faculty. They noted that full-time faculty perform the design work, and adjunct faculty take on the teaching role (implementation only), as a cost-saving measure (Callan et al., 2007). This approach can be found in large online public institutions such as Rio Salado College (Smith, 2007) and private or for-profit institutions such as University of Phoenix (“The University of Phoenix Way,” 2005). It is not only full-time faculty who perform the work of centralized design in distance education programs. Institutions may employ instructional designers to work with faculty on online course design (Berrett, 2016), and other specialists—including adjuncts—may be involved as well. Bates (2015) emphasized the value of a team approach to online course design: It is best to work in a team. Blended and especially fully online learning require a range of skills that most instructors are unlikely to have. Good course design not only enables students to learn better but also controls faculty workload. Courses look better with good graphic and web design and professional video production. Specialist technical help frees up instructors to concentrate on the knowledge and skills that students need to develop. (“Key Takeaways”) Cini & Prineas (2016) argued for economies of scale as a reason to employ centralized course design in online education. They observed the various inefficiencies of de-centralized design, including the ordering of multiple textbooks and the design of multiple versions of course materials. They also noted that inefficiencies of decentralized design are magnified in an online environment, where the work of technologists and instructional designers comes into play. They further argued that decentralized design is accompanied by the risk of an inconsistent learning model. With centralized design, it is more feasible to ensure that course content is consistent with established program and course outcomes and that established learning principles inform course design (Cini & Prineas, 2016). Adjunct Faculty As centralized models of course design have taken hold in higher education, particularly in online education, the use of adjunct faculty for classroom instruction, whether traditional or online, has also increased. The term “adjunct faculty” is used to describe part-time non-tenure-track faculty (Hoyt, 2012; Magda, Poulin, & Clinefelter, 2015). The American Association of University Professors (2017) reported that part-time faculty increased from 24% of the academic labor force in 1975 to 40% in 2015. In online education, the use of adjuncts has increased as well: In a 2015 survey of 202 higher education institutions, 56% reported an increase in the number of adjuncts who taught online only during the preceding year (Magda et al., 2015). The employment of adjunct faculty leads to challenges that can be considered from the adjunct perspective and from the institutional perspective. Ultimately, addressing both perspectives is essential for creating a mutually beneficial employment relationship. From the adjunct faculty perspective, many of the challenges fall into the category of fair labor practices and equity among different groups of faculty. Though the availability of precise compensation data is limited, it is widely acknowledged that adjunct faculty are compensated at lower rates than tenure-track faculty. A GAO report found that adjunct faculty at public institutions in North Dakota and Ohio are paid, on average, 75% less per course than full-time tenure-track faculty (United States Government Accountability Office, 2017). The report also documented disparities in the provision of health benefits, retirement benefits, and employment stability. From the institutional perspective, ensuring the high quality of instruction is an essential issue to address. Despite the many talented and effective teachers in the adjunct labor force, some studies have shown lower student satisfaction, success, and retention rates in courses taught by adjuncts as compared to those taught by full-time faculty, whether face-to-face (Eagan & Jaeger, 2008; Jaeger & Hinz, 2008) or online (Mueller, Mandernach, & Sanderson, 2013). Proposals for improving these measures have included enhanced professional development, increased opportunities for engagement and participation in the institution and department, and improved working conditions. The Compounding Challenges of Managing Online Adjuncts and Centralized Course Design Both centralized course design and the staffing of adjunct instructors are growing practices that have been used as cost-saving measures in online multi-section courses. Together, they contribute to a practice of “unbundling” faculty roles, with one group of faculty designing courses—with “design” used here to refer to the analyze, design, develop, and evaluate steps—and another (the adjuncts) teaching them. This practice is consistent with Peters’s (2010) industrial model of distance education, which includes a trend toward division of labor. Peters (2010) explained that division of labor takes place in distance education when “teaching is divided into several functions that are assigned to different persons: authors, instructional designers, media specialists, correctors, tutors, counselors, moderators, evaluators etc.” (p. 15). Along with any benefits of this division of labor, however, the separation of the teaching role from other typical faculty activities is accompanied by potential drawbacks. In fact, Peters (2010) went on to comment that the division of faculty labor “means that the teaching is detached from the original teacher or lecturer, disembodied and depersonalized” (p. 15). Such detachment includes the risks that the teaching faculty do not have access to the interaction and professional development that would benefit their job satisfaction and teaching effectiveness, and that course designers and administrators do not fully benefit from the teaching faculty’s expertise. Indeed, Senge (2006) has identified increased specialization as a barrier to systems thinking and a potential reason for suboptimal organizational performance. Centralized course design, then, has the potential to compound any deficiencies that already exist in the engagement and participation of adjunct faculty, factors which may contribute to adjunct faculty’s satisfaction and teaching effectiveness. Furthermore, when adjunct faculty are not involved in the course design, the benefits of their contributions are lost, potentially resulting in less effective courses than could have been developed with their input. The detrimental effects of adjunct faculty’s isolation from departmental or program work may be even further amplified when online adjunct faculty work from geographically remote locations (Dolan, 2011). It is therefore essential to develop best practices for adjunct faculty participation in the centralized design of the online courses that they teach. Participative Decision-Making Participative decision-making (PDM) refers to employee involvement in decisions relevant to their work. Numerous studies have demonstrated positive effects of PDM in the workplace, as described in the meta-analysis by Spector (1986). While PDM can have positive workplace effects in a number of areas, two broad categories that stand out are employee performance and employee satisfaction. Bouwmans, Runhaar, Wesselink, and Mulder (2017) considered the effects of PDM on teacher performance by examining it as a mediator between transformational leadership and team learning. They found that PDM was an effective tool for transformational leaders to empower teams of teachers, resulting in increased team commitment, task interdependence, and proactivity. Turning to job satisfaction, Probst (2005) has shown PDM to be particularly useful to counter the negative effects of job insecurity. Probst’s research builds on the demand-control model, which predicts that job strain will increase as job demands increase, and decrease as employee perception of control increases. The study supports the predicted positive effects of employee perception of control, by showing that PDM increases employee satisfaction, and in doing so, counters the negative effects of job insecurity on satisfaction (Probst, 2005). This finding is particularly relevant for adjunct faculty, given that they may experience high levels of job insecurity due to the contingent nature of their employment. When implementing PDM, it is important to consider exactly what PDM will entail. Cotton, Vollrath, Froggatt, Lengnick-Hall, and Jennings (1988) reviewed 91 research studies on the effects of PDM on employee productivity and satisfaction, and found that PDM is not a unitary concept. They placed studies of PDM into six categories, based on the level of formality, direct or indirect participation, long-term versus short-term participation, and degree of access/influence. They found that the effects of PDM on productivity and satisfaction varied with PDM type. Overall, their findings suggested that PDM that is direct, long-term, and high-access/influence most strongly support productivity, but that lesser forms of PDM may be sufficient for employee satisfaction. However, the authors emphasized that various factors can influence the selection and effectiveness of forms of PDM in particular contexts (Cotton et al., 1988). Motivation for Current Investigation Centralized design of online courses and teaching by adjunct faculty are trends that are likely to be sustained in the coming years. These approaches will be most successful if careful consideration is given to the role of the adjunct faculty member. Limiting adjunct faculty to implementing course designs over which they have no influence is likely to result in discontent among faculty. It is easy to see this discontent in the reactions of faculty organizations that that deny the validity of centralized course design. For example, both the American Association of University Professors and the Conference on College Communication and Composition have put out statements claiming the right of teaching faculty to retain control over what and how they teach (American Association of University Professors, 2013; Conference on College Composition and Communication, 2013). Neglecting to utilize input from the teaching faculty also risks the loss of valuable insight from those working “in the trenches.” Collaboration with instructors will result in a stronger instructional strategy. Despite the need for collaboration with adjunct faculty in course design, little research has been conducted to determine how this collaboration might best be achieved. In the decentralized liberal arts model, the role of faculty in course design has been taken for granted: faculty have traditionally held total control over the course design process. When this status quo is disrupted and teaching faculty no longer control the course design process, it is necessary to ask what mechanisms can facilitate their effective participation in course design. The part-time nature of adjunct work, along with the remote nature of online work, place additional constraints on this determination. This investigation will start by examining recent studies that discuss faculty participation in the course design process. It will then consider how existing practices might be maintained or modified to meet the needs of programs with adjunct faculty teaching centrally designed online courses. Methodology The current investigation examines existing empirical studies related to faculty participation in course or curriculum development. Studies for possible inclusion were identified through search of the Educational Research Information Center (ERIC) database. The initial search included resources from 2014–June 2018 (using the “last 5 years” limiter in ERIC) that included the terms “college faculty” AND “participation” AND (curriculum OR curricular OR course). The identified resources were narrowed down through further examination, to identify those that address faculty participation in course or curriculum development. The selected studies were then analyzed according to the dimensions identified by Cotton et al. (1988): Do they support (or fail to support) formal or informal participation? Direct or indirect participation? Long-term or short-term participation? High or low access/influence? Finally, the implications of these results were interpreted within the constraints of a program or department employing adjunct faculty who must teach from a common online course design. Recommended forms of effective faculty participation in that context are provided. The remainder of the methodology section explains how the existence of formal/informal, direct/indirect, long-term/ short-term, and high/low access/influence participation was determined in examining the selected studies. Formal and Informal Participation Following Dachler and Wilpert (1978), Cotton et al. (1988) identified formal participation as participation that is institutionalized. It is codified by law or policy and follows a rule system. Informal participation arises in a spontaneous or grass-roots manner and proceeds without rules. Cotton et al. name casual conversation as an example of informal participation in the workplace. In some of the selected studies, reference to committee memberships and participation commitments were taken as indicators of formal participation. When study authors stated that participation was formal or informal, this information was also taken into account. Direct and Indirect Participation Again citing Dachler and Wilpert (1978), Cotton et al. (1988) described direct participation as that which is “immediate” and “personal” (p. 9). Indirect participation involves representation. In a corporate context, this representation might take place through election of a board of directors by employee owners. For this investigation, the concept of immediate versus repr