Novice Adjunct Online Faculty: Perceptions of Orientation and Faculty Developmen

Academic institutions are experiencing a steady increase in online student enrollment. The trend is to hire adjunct online faculty instead of full time faculty to teach the online courses. Adjunct faculty may have prior teaching experience or be novice adjunct faculty with work experience but lacking formal preparation for teaching. Student achievement and faculty satisfaction lie in the preparation of the faculty teaching the courses. It is important that all new adjunct faculty receive an orientation and faculty development to prepare them for teaching. Many models are available, however, a one size fits all does not meet the needs of novice adjunct online faculty without prior teaching experience. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences novice adjunct online faculty had preparing to teach online. Guided by the theoretical framework of andragogy and social development theory, six novice adjunct online faculty shared their experiences of being adult learners preparing to teach online. Three research questions guided this study including the lived experiences of the orientation and faculty development, what was perceived as useful and lacking from their preparation. Six novice online adjunct participants volunteered to participate in semi-structured interviews. The analyzed data revealed that novice adjunct online faculty had a short time to prepare and had feelings of anxiety during the orientation process, but learned the basics and felt supported. Novice adjunct online faculty noted a lack of having clear expectations or receiving guidelines on learning how to teach. Findings from the study may inform academic administrators of the need to modify current orientation plans to address the needs of novice adjunct online faculty and assist them in transitioning into their new roles.