OJDLA

Supporting Online Programs and Faculty: A Push for Best Practices

Yvonne Earnshaw, PhD., Mary Ann Bodine Al-Sharif, Ph.D. — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:07:00 -0400

As tenure-track faculty and online program coordinators, we have examined the online program infrastructure, as well as the individuals who work within it. This work presents a culmination of five years of inquiry that serves to challenge the current infrastructure of online programs and its support systems. Pulling from Freire’s foundational work in humanism, we recognize our responsibility to approach the field through the lens of empathy, reciprocal learning, and intentionality. Thus, we feel that it is our duty to contribute to an ethic of care for all entities working in the online environment. Based on our research, we present to the field nine best practices and a call to action in order to humanize the field and create change.

Keywords: online learning best practices, humanism, online faculty development, online program administrators

Beyond the Organizational Chart: Portfolio Fit and Seam Ownership in Digital Learning Governance

Witt Salley, Ed.D. — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:06:00 -0400

Digital learning responsibilities span academic, administrative, technology, and learner service units. An organizational chart may identify where functions are housed while leaving decision authority, resources, and cross-unit handoffs unspecified. To examine public descriptions of these arrangements, the study used comparative documentary analysis of 32 official or institution-authored records covering 12 U.S. digital learning or teaching support cases and one adjacent information technology governance analog. The records specified administrative home and portfolio scope more consistently than decision authority, ongoing process ownership, or reported results and responses. A supplementary appendix makes the 156 case-level classifications, codebook, source locators, and reconciliation decisions available for inspection. The article proposes two applied concepts for internal review. Portfolio fit examines whether responsibilities correspond to administrative home, authority, resources, dependencies, and constituency. Seam ownership assigns responsibility for cross-unit processes while preserving faculty academic authority. The diagnostic translates these concepts into planning decisions about delegated authority, resources, handoffs, and successor responsibility. A hypothetical certificate launch and a documentary application to the University of Delaware illustrate the information the diagnostic organizes and the internal evidence still needed. The diagnostic is designed to produce documented assignments and unresolved decisions for internal review; implementation testing remains pending.

Keywords: digital learning governance, online learning administration, organizational structure, chief online learning officer, portfolio fit, seam ownership

Teaching with AI, Not Against It: A Thinking Partner Framework for Working Adult Learners in Compressed Online Formats

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:05:00 -0400

Working adult learners in online graduate programs face challenges that make strict AI bans both impractical and unhelpful. This paper introduces the Thinking Partner Framework, a practical approach to AI integration developed and refined across six semesters of graduate research methods courses serving approximately 440 K-12 educators. Instead of treating AI as a problem to be detected, the framework positions AI as a Socratic partner that helps students learn while still requiring them to think for themselves. Five design principles—transparency, process documentation, authentic assessment, scaffolded autonomy, and metacognitive reflection—guide the framework’s implementation. The paper includes practical tools such as sample prompts, documentation templates, and examples illustrating the difference between using AI for answers and using it as a thinking partner. Observations from practice, including a 96% checkpoint completion rate and evidence of students transferring Socratic techniques to their own classrooms, suggest promise, though more rigorous research is needed. This framework gives distance education administrators a practical option beyond simply banning or allowing AI.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, adult learning, distance education, Socratic method, academic integrity, compressed courses

Building and Leading Fully Online Campuses: Strategy and Data in Practice

Carlos Morales, Ph.D. — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:04:00 -0400

Many institutions have expanded online course offerings, yet far fewer have built fully functioning online campuses with clear governance, consistent quality, and measurable outcomes. This paper presents a practitioner framework grounded in the author’s experience establishing online operations across four institutional contexts: Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, Ana G. Méndez Virtual Campus, TCC Connect Campus, and Lone Star College–Online. The framework centers on three areas of focus—governance and operating model, scalable stakeholder engagement, and data-informed strategy—and is enabled by a continuous improvement cadence that translates metrics into decisions and accountability.

A Case Study of Faculty Perceptions of Collaborative Sessions for Student Practicum Experiences in a Fully Online Education Counseling Program

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:00:00 -0400

This qualitative single-case study is an examination of how faculty interpret and facilitate synchronous preclinical practicum experiences in a fully online educational counseling program. Data from 10 faculty questionnaires, five faculty interviews, and a student focus group were analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis. Faculty described the sessions as relationally rich and professionally meaningful but cognitively and emotionally demanding. They viewed them as spaces for guided practice, reflection, ethical reasoning, and professional identity development. Because these sessions are without shared guidelines and university-mandated expectations, faculty and students experienced ambiguity and variability across sections. Students initially questioned the sessions' purpose but valued them more as they progressed through the program and fieldwork. Participants recommended clear learning objectives, shared exemplars, targeted online-facilitation training, workload recognition, and alignment with counseling competencies. Findings support intentional program structures that preserve faculty autonomy while improving consistency, sustainability, and developmental value.

Keywords: online counselor education, practicum, synchronous learning, faculty perceptions, collaborative sessions, supervision-adjacent learning

They Deserve Training Too! Online Program Development Training for Deans and Chairs

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 09:30:00 -0400

Academic Program Leaders (APL), including department chairs, associate deans, and deans, are essential to the successful development of fully online programs. However, APLs may lack academic training or direct experience with online instructional design, online pedagogy, online course quality assurance, and federal requirements for online/distance education. This paper describes the development of a training and resource course to help APLs be able to explain the course development process and the roles involved in online course development, articulate their responsibilities during online program planning process, identify specific ways that they can support the faculty subject matter experts and instructional designers in the course development process, evaluate an online template course for program alignment and discipline requirements and facilitate communication between the instructional design team and faculty teaching the course during deployment.

Considerations for Designing Needs Assessment of Distance Learning in STEM Education at the Postsecondary Level

David Devraj Kumar, Ed.D., Victoria Brown, Ed.D., Christine Kassover, Ph.D. — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 08:30:00 -0400

Considerations for designing needs assessments of distance learning programs for informed decisions in postsecondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education are explored. Needs assessment methods and models should change to keep up with developments in distance learning, placing a greater emphasis on determining with accuracy the “what is” and “what should be” conditions. A well-done needs assessment study provides context-specific, accurate information essential for making meaningful policies for the success of distance learning programs in postsecondary STEM education. Relevant features of the needs assessment are discussed with recommendations. Needs assessment of distance learning programs in postsecondary STEM education remains a promising area for research and development.

Keywords: Needs assessment, distance learning, STEM, postsecondary, artificial intelligence

Regular and Substantive Interaction in Online Courses: Why it Matters for Administrators…and Faculty

Marίa D. Lerma, Ed.D. — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 08:00:00 -0400

Regular and substantive interaction (RSI) is important in education, particularly in online learning (whether hybrid, synchronous, or asynchronous). Piña & Martindale (2023) make a compelling argument on why college and university administrators must be concerned about regular and substantive interaction, as it impacts financial aid and accreditation. While administrators should and must be concerned about RSI in online learning because of regulatory, financial, and compliance issues, it is ultimately up to faculty to uphold high academic standards and ensure that regular and substantive interaction is taking place in all of their classes, whether F2F, hybrid, synchronous, or asynchronous. Faculty should have access to training on best practices (Chickering & Gamson, 1986) for online teaching in order to maintain regular and substantive interaction (RSI) and ensure that not only their institutions meet compliance issues but that students are receiving worthwhile and academically rigorous instruction that encourages student engagement and active participation. As such, it is within faculty purview to effect change and implement content area expertise in all courses, including asynchronous, hybrid, and asynchronous courses.

The Development of Instructor Social Connectedness Instrument to Predict Student Satisfaction, Motivation, and Perceived Learning in Online Courses

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 07:30:00 -0400

This study validated the FORCES framework (Feedback, Organization, Response time, Communication, Empathy, and Sociability) to measure instructor social connectedness in online education. The survey was conducted at two southeastern universities with online undergraduate and graduate students (N=164). The findings revealed high internal consistency for each subscale and significant correlations with student satisfaction, motivation, and perceived learning, underscoring the critical role of instructor presence in online learning environments. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the six-factor structure, although high correlations between Empathy and Sociability suggested the potential for refinement. Practical implications include the need for timely feedback, transparent communication, and empathy-driven approaches to enhance online learning experiences. This framework offers insights into improving instructor-student connections in distance learning environments.

Keywords: Instructor Social connectedness, Online Learning, Student Perceptions, Instructor Connectedness

Centralizing Standard Operating Procedures in a Large Online Education Division

Abhijeet Dalal, Rosa Kondri, MBA, M.Ed — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 07:00:00 -0400

The growth of online education is complex and multidimensional involving areas such as design and development, media, program operations, and data management. Online education divisions are multifaceted, and vital to the business operations of a university. The focus of the online education division in this case study, operating at a private, R1 university in Northeast America, was to streamline, centralize, and standardize the operational processes (or SOPs) within the department. What started as the expectation of a few SOPs grew into the documentation and standardization of more than sixty processes that had never been formally documented. The study findings highlighted the cross-functional dependencies, gaps in process ownership, and lack of operational knowledge in the division. The focus of this article is to provide distance education administrators the tools and resources to enhance their operational framework with SOPs.

Keywords: education administration, online learning operations, standard operating procedures, cross-functional collaboration, best practices, lessons learned, facilitated workflow, process improvement