A Comparison of Faculty and Student Attitudes Towards Distance Education
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to better understand faculty and student attitudes towards distance education by exploring the similarities and differences between their attitudes and opinions. In addition, we seek to unveil the main concerns that our faculty and students have about online education. 152 faculty from our institution completed an online survey provided to us by Babson Survey Research Group that focused on attitudes and practices related to all aspects of online education. 1484 students from our institution also completed the same survey to understand their perceptions and opinions of online education. Findings indicate that faculty have more concerns and are more overall pessimistic than students. However, both faculty and students are skeptical about the quality of online education compared to face-to-face instruction. Implications of the study are also discussed.