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Higher education is facing significant institutional challenges created by new and emerging technologies (Jaffee, 1998). Specifically, digital technology has provided new and flexible means of course delivery and instructional strategies that were largely unavailable just a few years ago. One of the areas of greatest interest to universities is the potential of distance learning to meet the needs of changing student demographics and the potential for expanding enrollments (Magiuka, Shi, & Bonk, 2005). It is assumed that institutions of higher education are not only attuned to change but positioned for leadership in the change process. It appears that higher education faculties are responding slowly, or even resisting, the non-traditional instructional models innate to distance education. To better understand the dynamics of this faculty disassociation from distance education as a viable means of instructional delivery, a qualitative study was conducted among faculty of a College of Education to ascertain faculty perception of value and viability of distance education. .
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The term distance learning is used in the context of the definition accepted by the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA): "The acquisition of knowledge and skills through mediated information and instruction, encompassing all technologies and other forms of learning at a distance." For the purpose of this study, the focus is on computer-mediated online learning. Distance education is a viable way to teach virtually any instructional content (Simonson, Schlosser, & Hanson, 1999). Since the early 1900s, technology (with the use of audiovisual analog devices such as films, slides, radio, tape recordings, etc.) has been a part of academic practice (Reiser, 1987). Furthermore, the emergence of digital technologies contributed significantly to expand delivery mechanisms and interactive processes for distance learning. Additionally, students come to school with ever increasing levels of comfort with the use of technology. In fact, many expect to use technology to assist in learning. Students expect institutions of higher education to keep pace with their skills and interests. According to Jaffee (1998), organizational theories inform the use of technology to meet the demands of institutional change; one would expect organizations of higher education to be able to adapt and meet the demands of this changing environment. Because of their rich history and uniquely recognized intellectual leadership, society looks to institutions of...