As institutions seek to grow their distance learning programs, they sometimes forget that the bulk of the burden falls on the faculty. A challenge exists in supporting the faculty while also fostering quality distance learning offerings. Over ten years of research on faculty-centered distance learning professional development strategies show that faculty who are slow to adopt distance learning require a specific set of support strategies.

Dr. Tamara M. Powell is the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Director of the Office of Distance Education at Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA and the designer of KSU’s “Build a Web Course Workshop,”  which has trained 135 faculty in creating hybrid and online courses and which won the SLOAN C Award for Excellence in Faculty Development for Online Teaching, 2010. She is a SLOAN-C mentor and 2012 graduate of the Sloan Consortium Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning. And a giant sci-fi nerd.