Evidence of Effectiveness:
This program has been in effect for 4 semesters. In Spring 2004, FCCJ conducted a survey of online adjuncts in an effort to learn more about their satisfaction with current support and development opportunities. It was found that 60 percent of online adjuncts thought the Virtual Mentors were helpful, 17 percent did not think the Mentors were helpful, and 21 percent did not use them. The open comments showed overwhelmingly positive comments about the Virtual Mentors from those who used them. The Virtual Mentors were reported to be most helpful to those adjuncts who were newer to online teaching or those who were not already familiar with the institution. The phrase "experience teaching online" is a common one. But what is "experience" in the online environment? There are substantial differences in the preferred teaching styles across institutions. Each online program has its own focus, preferred pedagogy, and policies and procedures. Given that most online adjuncts already have some teaching experience, evaluating how that experience aligns with the institutional definition of online teaching is an important but challenging consideration. To ensure that such alignment occurs, the decision has been made to require all adjuncts who are new to FCCJ to work with a Virtual Mentor and progress through the orientation program successfully, regardless of their prior experience with online teaching.
How does this practice relate to pillars?:
faculty satisfaction The student demand for online courses has outpaced the full-time instructional capacity at many institutions, creating an instructional gap that adjuncts readily fill. For a growing number of institutions, national recruitment of online adjunct faculty seems to be a promising solution. By recruiting outside of the local community, colleges are able to attract a fascinating and highly diverse group of faculty, who is not only diverse geographically, but also brings a variety of backgrounds, motivations, and experience. Providing instructional support and development for online adjunct faculty are critical tasks. Florida Community College at Jacksonville (FCCJ) supports a total of 160 active online adjuncts. This number is constantly rising as recruitments are ongoing. In order to attract, retain, and develop qualified online adjuncts, maintain the quality of online programs, and promote engagements between full-time and part-time online faculty, FCCJ has implemented a mentoring and orientation program to support online adjuncts. The Virtual Mentoring Program consists of Lead Mentors and Virtual Mentors, paid a stipend for each semester of service. Lead Mentors must be full-time faculty. Virtual Mentors may be full- or part-time faculty who have taught in the Virtual College program for at least one year of consecutive assignments. Each Virtual Mentor is assigned up to 15 new online adjuncts. The specific duties of the Virtual Mentors are as follows:
- Act as a liaison between the administration and the adjunct.
- Develop professional relationships with new adjuncts through proactive emails and discussion forum contacts.
- Provide help and share resources, ideas and opportunities.
- Facilitate an online orientation course. All new adjuncts are required to go through and complete the required assessments before teaching online.
- Communicate processes for and monitor compliance with administrative processes and procedures.
- Act as a point of contact for questions/advice about teaching, pedagogy, and use of the learning management systems.
Lead Mentors provide oversight and coordination among the Virtual Mentors.
Estimate the probable costs associated with this practice:
At present, Lead Mentors are paid a stipend of $1,000, and $150 per assigned Mentee, up to 10 or as needed. Virtual Mentors are paid $150 per assigned Mentee, up to 15 or as needed.
