The Distance Education Organization: Considerations for Success
Open Access
- Author:
- Williams, Anthony
- Graduate Program:
- Adult Education
- Degree:
- Doctor of Education
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- November 13, 2020
- Committee Members:
- William Calvin Diehl, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
William Calvin Diehl, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Jose Cossa, Committee Member
John Jesse Cheslock, Committee Member
Karly Sarita Ford, Outside Member
Susan Mary Land, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- Distance Education
Social Structure
Online Administration
Organizational Structure - Abstract:
- Despite the proliferation of distance education at colleges and universities and its increases in student enrollments, experts warn that unless significant changes are made, distance education’s future may become threatened (Cavanaugh, 2004; Howard & Schenk, 2004; Porter, 2004; Zemsky & Massy, 2004; Carr, 2001; Carnevale, 2001). These threats directly address and question the effectiveness, need, and in some instances, the continued existence of distance education at the post-secondary level. This study describes the internal characteristics contributing to the sustained operation of a renowned DE organization by examining the organization’s social structure. Understanding an organization’s social structure facilitates methods to counteract intradepartmental conflict, improve coordination practices and promote effective workflow activities or processes in ways that barrier studies, best practice guidelines and other tools have not, or simply cannot. This study also examines distance education in 2020 including an update on its current statistics, progress and primary research theme. It concludes with a discussion on distance education’s most urgent challenges and provides considerations for practice and implications for additional research.