Development Time Critical

Critical Issues Affecting Internet Instruction within the North Carolina Community College System by Mary Powell Kirk

The central purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which community college students and faculty agree on the evaluation and importance of cited critical issues in relation to online instruction. The researcher selected two urban and two rural community colleges in North Carolina to survey students and faculty regarding their satisfaction level with services offered, as well as their perception of the importance of critical issues identified by the researcher. Seventy-six faculty members were surveyed, with 32 responding (42% response rate). Four hundred and eighty-five students were surveyed, with 65 responding (13.4% response rate). Results included: (1) 91% of faculty found adequate program planning and development to be a critical issue, compared with 82% of students who found this issue to be critical; (2) 89% of students identified student self-direction and motivation as a critical issue, as compared to 94% of faculty; and (3) 91% percent of faculty felt that adequate release time to develop online courses was a critical issue, compared with 74% of students. The author also found that many instructors felt pressured to produce Internet courses and were frustrated with the addition of this project to their already loaded schedules. (Contains 15 tables and 50 references, with the research instrument appended.) (NB)