| Institutions of higher education continue to build and revise distance education programs. More specifically, courses being taught online continue to grow and offer a variety of benefits to faculty, students, and school administrators. Developing a new distance education program or making changes to an existing program, requires change or adoption of an innovation. In order for distance education technology to be adopted, positive attitudes toward its use must be present. Faculty members sometimes resist change. For successful programs, administrators need to recognize the factors that influence faculty in the decision to adopt the Internet for instruction. Both faculty members and administrators need to be aware of these factors to support a successful innovation adoption decision. In this study the factors that influenced faculty in the decision to adopt the Internet for instruction at a southeastern United States university were examined. The main purpose was to determine the personal, social, and organizational factors that influenced faculty members in the adoption of the Internet for instructional delivery.; Of particular interest were issues concerning administration and leadership at the departmental, college, and university levels as they pertain to online teaching. Results confirm personal factors are most influential in faculty decision to adopt the Internet for instruction. Two implications emerged as a result of this study. First, administrators may need only to provide support and encouragement for online teaching. Second, administrators may need to be aware of faculty members' personal interest in instructional technology and personal motivation to use technology and plan for effective instructional design. Both faculty members and administrators need to be aware of these factors to support a successful adoption decision. |
