Date of Award
4-24-1998
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Educational Leadership
First Advisor
Gloria Jean Thomas
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify the attitudes of business faculty and administrators toward distance education, the factors that influence those attitudes, and the impact that various factors have on the willingness of faculty and administrators to participate in and offer distance courses/programs. A national survey was conducted of 1,045 business faculty and administrators from the following groups: business programs accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business, business programs accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, and non-accredited business programs. Usable surveys were returned from 334 respondents surveyed, for an effective response rate of 32%.Approximately half of respondents at the baccalaureate level of instruction and a slight majority of respondents at the master's level of instruction reported positive or very positive receptivity to and support toward distance education; less than half of the respondents reported positive or very positive receptivity of and support toward distance education at the doctoral level of instruction. Business accreditation, institution type, specific business discipline, age, years at current school, and familiarity and experience with distance education made significant differences in a faculty member's or administrator's receptivity of and support toward distance education.Conclusions derived from the study indicate that there is a base of support for distance education at the baccalaureate and master's levels of instruction. Distance education in the business discipline is more likely to be accepted if it is first offered at the master's level of instruction, with only individual courses, in the "soft" business disciplines (i.e., management, marketing, economics, and business education), at universities whose Carnegie classification is master's, with new faculty, or with faculty who have some familiarity with distance education.
Recommended Citation
Ross, Gary, "Attitudes of business college faculty and administrators toward distance education: A national survey." (1998). Theses and Dissertations. 7759.
https://commons.und.edu/theses/7759