Academics Telecommuting in Open and Distance Education Universities: Issues, challenges and opportunities

Authors

  • Cheuk Fan Ng Athabasca University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v7i2.300

Keywords:

telecommuting, telework, distance education, online education, faculty, work conditions, academia

Abstract

Research in distance and online education has focused on how to improve students: learning and support services. Faculty satisfaction, as one of the five pillars in Sloan-Consortium's quality framework for online education, has received less attention in research. Besides online teaching, little research has examined the experiences of academics working in institutions where the faculty is dispersed geographically. Outside the academy, teleworking or telecommuting has become quite popular in recent years. Most research to-date has been conducted in information technology-related corporations and government departments, but hardly any in post-secondary educational institutions. Drawing on a literature review of research in telecommuting or teleworking, this paper discusses the potential benefits and drawbacks of telecommuting for academics and their families, and the potential opportunities for -- and challenges faced -- by their distance and online education institutions.

Author Biography

Cheuk Fan Ng, Athabasca University

Dr. Cheuk Fan Ng is associate professor of psychology at Athabasca University, Canada. Her research interests are in the areas of environmental, social, and cross-cultural psychology, particularly in noise, crowding, and privacy in the home and the workplace, and immigrant acculturation. She is also an affiliated researcher of the Prairie Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration at University of Alberta, Canada. Dr. Ng's email address is: cheukn@athabascau.ca

Published

2006-09-28

How to Cite

Ng, C. F. (2006). Academics Telecommuting in Open and Distance Education Universities: Issues, challenges and opportunities. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v7i2.300

Issue

Section

Research Articles