Undergrad Degrees of DL Administrators

Though it's a dream job, becoming a DL administrator wasn't my dream. That's no surprise, since the field scarcely existed 20 years ago (except on a very limited basis). I took a few minutes to do some highly informal research to find out the educational origin of 25 randomly-selected DL adminers. In perusing the vitae of 25 individuals in charge of DL programs (directors, deans, assistant and associates deans and directors), I found that there was no most common bachelor's degree among them. In fact, out of the 25, there were 17 different degrees. These were:

• Political Science (2)
• Math (3)
• Psychology (4)
• Education (4)
• Journalism (1 - that's me)
• English (2)
• Engineering (1)
• Biblical Studies (1)
• Spanish (1)
• History (1)
• Oceanography (1)
• Sociology (2)
• Nursing (1)
• Music (1)

There were no business majors, nor computer-science, IT-related majors. Keep in mind this was by no means a scientific sample, but interesting nevertheless, I believe.

The Aging of DL Adminers

It has just occured to me this week in certain discussions with my staff (most who have been around for the long-haul with me), that we are significantly older than we were when we started our journey into online education and its support and administration. For some reason, this is a field people seem to stay in (that's good). Then I think about my many wonderful friends and colleagues over the world in DL Admin, and realize that they, too, have matured and even grayed a bit. Many of us were in our 20s and 30s when we somehow fell into this field, often by accident, and now we are middle-aged, over-the-hill (or fast approaching), and actually paying attention to phrases like "retirement planning." We are, as a rule, a few pounds heavier (I'm still working on this one) and a little less energetic (they say our lung capacity diminishes). On the bright side, we have experience, wisdom, and respect. But are we losing our spunk, our willingness to take chances, and our shine? I hope not! As we have reached a new lifestage, so have our maturing programs. As we aging DL Adminers work to find new meaning in our personal lives as the years flash by, we must also strive to keep our programs fresh and shiny.

DLA2009 Call for Proposals

I am thrilled to announce that we have just opened up the Call for Proposals for our 10th Annual DLA Conference, to be held June 21-24, 2009 at the King & Prince Resort at St. Simons Island, Georgia. There are so many people who attend this conference year after year who tell me that it is their very favorite DL conference - so much discussion, learning, yummy food and fun. Though this conference is specifically for those administering DL programs (directors, deans, support staff, etc.), we usually have a fair number of online faculty who present related research. Our proceedings are bound and printed, rather than just being on a CD. Among the conference strands are: managing growth in DL; training and support; budget; marketing; ethics and copyright; quality assurance; and organizational issues. I would love to see some proposals this year about the potential impact of the Higher Education Act on DL, as well as issues related to the economy. The proposal process is simple and will take you just a few minutes.

Don't Cross the Ivory Line

As DL adminers, we are privy to the best and worst of online courses. If not careful, we can get lost in our best practices mindset, and start to believe that we are the utmost authority on online course design, online teaching, and everything in between. We start to think that we could save all students from those occasional yucky online courses if every instructor would just develop their course just exactly like we would. The problem? Well, there's just oodles of them. First of all, it's just not our place to cross that ivory line and get into the business of telling faculty how to teach. Train them, lead them, inspire them - yes; but remember that they are the true artists who must be allowed to sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly create their own masterpieces. I'm also one who, in spite of the scalability it may provide, who is not in favor of a cookie-cutter approach to online classes. I treasured the geniune and spontaneous character of f2f courses I took long ago, and think we move into dangerous territory when we attempt to rob online courses of the same. Finally, we begin to lose respect when our egos get in the way and we forget that we are administrators in a support role.

Distance Learning Administrators: A Unique Blend of Skills

I am often asked if I think that Distance Learning Administration is really a field, or if it just relies on general management principles. I would like to answer this from my own personal experience. When I first was hired at the University of West Georgia (as distance learning coordinator) in 1996, there was a fair amount of literature about online teaching, but almost nil about managing distance programs. To learn about how to be most effective in my new role, I found that my past experiences and education were only of moderate help - that the role of distance learning administrator was comprised of a unique blend of skills, insight, and forces. I learned as much as I could by interviewing and borrowing from the experiences of others, and through trial-and-error. To address this lacuna, I started the Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The wealth of articles and interested generated from colleagues from all over the planet are evidence to me that this is indeed a field that deserves its own research and dialogue. Among the ingredients in the special mix that make up successful DL Admins are an understanding of: management, technology (though not tech guru level), faculty governance, historical principles in higher education, student support, retention, recruitment, faculty training, change leadership, evaluation, advisement, academic quality and accreditation, marketing, among others. Can you think of others?