With the rapid growth of online education — the most recent Sloan Consortium survey reported that more than 25% of today’s students took least one online class in the past year — it’s clear that distance learning faculty are going to be crucial players in elearning’s continued success.

Online Education in Demand

In order to meet the education needs of the millions of students pursuing college degrees now and in the future, online education is being looked to as one significant solution to meeting those needs. Also, as many schools face budget cuts in their respective states, online courses are expected to generate the revenue necessary to keep colleges afloat.

Government Interest in Online Education

It is common knowledge for readers of this blog that the Obama administration plans to invest $500 million in the development of free, high-quality online courses. However, some in the education world feel that investing money in the traditional online courses is equally as important in order to give online education the boost it needs to meet its full potential.

The Need for Creative Distance Learning Faculty

One of the major components of the success of online education is getting distance learning faculty enthusiastically and knowledgably involved in course development. This may be a challenge, since recent studies reveal that many college level instructors are less than keen on teaching online courses. Because of the extra time it takes to develop the courses, learn the technology, not to mention the expense of an online course, many teachers are reluctant to become distance learning faculty. There is also still enough doubt about the quality of teaching online to cause some instructors to hold back from becoming distance learning faculty.

Calling All Distance Learning Faculty

It seems like online education is here to stay—along with its potential to reach millions of nontraditional students who otherwise may not get a college degree. That said, online education has a ways to go in terms of quality and reputation. Let’s hope some open-minded, innovative, enthusiastic distance learning faculty step up to the challenge as our country continues to re-build itself in the midst of such difficult times.