Volume XXXIV, No. 15 | May 4, 2012

Effective Faculty Communication in Online Learning: What We Have Here Is a Failure to Communicate!

How did things go so wrong? When Dr. Adams (fictitious name) was hired as an adjunct faculty member to teach psychology online, he seemed so motivated and ready to work with students. As it turned out, that was not the case. His first course, a spring term PSY 110 General Psychology class, was full with 30 students and went off without a hitch. At first glance, the content was developed and seemed up to par. Wonderful! No problems!

The summer term went well, with no student issues. As summer moved into fall, noticeable changes began to occur. Dr. Adams was again assigned PSY 110 and had a full class of 30 students for the fall semester. But on the very first day of classes, a student in Dr. Adams’ class called the Online Learning Department wondering why she could not access the class. Upon inspection, the course had not been opened as it should have been. He was e-mailed immediately to open the course. One mistake, I thought. It can happen to anybody.

Students began calling the first week in the semester with complaints. Dr. Adams was not responding to student e-mails. He was basically MIA. Then I called him. His tone was not overtly challenging, but rather passive aggressive. Now I looked into his course. No content! I notified the Dean of Online Learning, who called him immediately and removed him from the course, and a new instructor was hired. There was a great deal of angst in our department, and I felt much of it myself.

Would better communication prevent this from happening in the future? How could I apply principles of communication to online teaching and learning? As soon as a problem arises, pick up the phone, and make a call. Get to the root of the problem; talk and straighten it out. Emailing is not a clear and effective strategy for problem solving

The situation created a learning curve for our department. We began a process of systematic course reviews by utilizing a quality assurance grading rubric. The findings are shared with individual faculty members in the spirit of improvement. This has raised the level of communication with both full-time and adjunct faculty members.

The need for quality online instructors increases as online programs grow. Effective communication with online faculty strengthens relationships.

Connie Heflin, Director of Online Learning

For further information, contact the author at West Kentucky Community and Technical College, 4810 Alben Barkley Drive, Paducah, KY 42001. Email Author.