An epidemic is in process and distance education is fully immersed in the mix. In a 2008 study the Rand Corporation estimated that as of October 2007 approximately 300,000 military service members who had been deployed for Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) suffered from PTSD. The Walter Reed Institute of Research reports that between 8.5 and 14 percent of Soldiers returning from Iraq report suffering from either PTSD or depression based on the strictest definitions of the disorder—yet using a broader definition the numbers could be as high as 31 percent.  As we write, more than 90,000 U.S. troops remain deployed to Iraq and a slightly greater number in Afghanistan. While adjustments are continually being made in the numbers it is obvious the U.S. will have service members in both places for years to come.

The devastating saga is destined to go on and the effects to be felt across Higher Education.  Traditional universities increasingly report related campus challenges with the onset of the new GI Bill. But, another sector has already been literally and figuratively on the frontlines.

In FY09 alone, 376,759 service members participated in DoD’s voluntary education program, which underwrites tuition costs to attend college. Almost three-quarters of those enrollments were via the distance education format. Distance education dominates the military market and is also growing at a significantly faster rate than traditional education. In the fall term of 2008, 4.6 million students were taking at least one online course – a 17 percent increase over the previous year. During the same period higher education grew overall at a rate of only 1.2 percent. 

One can readily infer a high level of probability that an online program of study aimed at military students will have students who engage in traumatic events and suffer the aftermath of PTSD.  This workshop looks to address what faculty members can do in such situations? How can online educators prepare for the likelihood that they will encounter students with PTSD? Can they develop an understanding of what PTSD is, the symptoms that may be manifested in their online classrooms, and the resources or best practices available to help them effectively deal with their students?

Questions that bear research and discussion include:

-          How do I know if one of my students is suffering from PTSD? The sad fact is that many students do not report their status in any official manner to the institution (or their employer or doctor for that matter), for various reasons including a concern for confidentiality and a fear that disclosure may adversely affect their career, a lack of confidence in the effectiveness of treatment programs, and worry that drugs used in treatment may have unpleasant side effects. Additionally, students in online programs typically do not reveal disabilities as readily as students in traditional campus environments because they do not normally need the accommodations afforded to disabled students.

-          What behaviors might a student exhibit in an online classroom if he has PTSD? The anonymity of the online environment allows students to express themselves more openly in classroom ‘discussions’, but when does inappropriate behavior signal something more serious than simple acting out? Not all students are diligent about maintaining contact during the semester and some may disappear entirely or for extended periods of time. Are those behaviors possible indicators of PTSD? Are there flags that can be identified in a student’s writing that may be cries for help or at the least reasons for me to reach out to the student with helpful intent?

-          As an instructor who may be located miles away from a physical campus, or who teaches for an institution that may have no campus at all, where do I find resources to help me deal with these students? Campuses often have counseling centers, medical facilities, or veterans groups to which students can be referred when appropriate; distance educators may not have that luxury. What resources are available and accessible at a distance, and when is it appropriate to engage them?

-          What are the legalities in dealing with these students; what rights do they have and what are my boundaries and obligations? Can I ask a student directly if he suffers from PTSD or needs help? Should I report suspected cases to my institution’s disability office? Am I required to make special accommodations for students I know or suspect suffer from PTSD?

-          How might I as a course facilitator become impacted by repeated exposure to traumatic stories from my students? Vicarious trauma is a well documented condition whereby a person experiences various symptoms, including sleeplessness, increased substance abuse and so forth after being exposed to repeated stories of trauma. This is very common for people involved in the helping professions, including teachers.

 

Teaching online can be a stressful activity, with overwhelming demands on the instructor’s time and intrusion into his private life. Coupled with the lack of camaraderie and support most instructors would find on a traditional campus online instruction can seem isolating, lonely and mentally challenging. Student expectations are different in the online environment; feedback and grading is expected immediately, access to the instructor is assumed at all hours. Dealing with troubled students, including those suffering from PTSD, can compound these issues and contribute to a syndrome commonly referred to as “burnout”.

Symptoms of burnout, a term coined by noted psychologist Herbert Freudenberger in 1974, include exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy, or stated differently emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished feelings of personal accomplishment. Cases have been well documented among teachers, doctors, police officers, child care workers, and others in professions whose primary role is to care for people; however, specific research into the causes, effects, and implications for online educators is much less prevalent. It would be worthwhile for all online educators to consider the causes and effects of online educator burnout (OEB) and to identify activities that may help them or their institutions prevent or mitigate this condition. Specifically, they may be well served to ask:

-          What are the unique causes of online educator burnout? Identifying and understanding the sources of the problem can be helpful in taking primary preventative steps from before the condition’s onset.

-          What are healthy ways to cope with OEB so that I can continue to be an effective online instructor and not feel like my teaching responsibilities are all-consuming?

-          How can I create a self-care plan that makes me feel empowered to work through high stress situations that are commonly involved with online course facilitation?

Available literature about mental health disorders, including PTSD, anxiety, stress, and burnout is abundant. However, little has been written linking these conditions to students and educators. Even rarer is information that addresses the situation in relation to online education. 

The new Sloan-C workshop “Student PTSD and Faculty Stress in the Online Classroom” steps into this void. Online and traditional educators are invited to learn and share in this landmark event. Workshop facilitators include Colonel Philip McNair, a retired Army officer who was present in the Pentagon on 9/11 and has witnessed the effects of PTSD first-hand, Dr. John Moore, a clinical psychologist whose practice includes patients who suffer from PTSD and similar disorders and is a researcher in the field of educator burnout, and Dr. Fred Stielow, noted author, historian, and archivist. All three facilitators work for the American Public University System (APUS), which offers academic programs exclusively online. American Military University, a subordinate institution of APUS, is the largest provider of higher education to the U.S. military.