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Instructional design has continued to change and undergo metamorphosis. A key component of this process in higher education is the collaboration between an instructional designer and one or more faculty members to create a robust, quality online course. In this collaborative process, instructional designers are clearly the design expert, while the faculty member is the content expert. However, problems occur when roles are not clearly delineated. Conflict is often reported by instructional designers who feel they are not respected by faculty. Conflict can also occur when instructional designers cross the line and try to influence content instead of providing guidance on content delivery. In order to decrease conflict, the roles of instructional designers and the faculty they collaborate with must be clearly defined. Both the instructional designer and the faculty member should clearly articulate their expected roles in the collaborative course creation process. In addition, written policies and procedures for the instructional design process are crucial to the success of these collaborative relationships.

It was the purpose of the study to investigate the readiness of faculty members at two private universities in the United States to teach online when a pandemic caused a shift to emergency remote or online teaching. Results show that instructors were somewhat ready to accomplish tasks related to online teaching. Participating instructors reported they felt most competent with course communication and least competent with time management. Significant differences in responses were found based on online teaching experience prior to the pandemic and years of online teaching experience. Results show that instructors who had confidence in online teaching were more prepared for the task than those who were not confident. This study has implications for online instructors, support staff who provide professional development opportunities and training for instructors, and administrators who provide resources for faculty and staff to support quality online course and program offerings at their institutions.

This paper provides an overview of best practices and challenges for deans and department heads of online programmes in the ever-changing world of higher education. It concentrates on the challenges for small private universities and tertiary education institutions in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Department heads must consider new roles and innovate constantly to offset the impact of global competition in online and distance learning. These changing roles include innovation in managing programme enrolment, retention, marketing, and the creation of innovative offerings to meet student needs to prevent obsolescence. Other topics discussed include potential alternate sources of revenue, partnerships, and how service and research can lead to new opportunities for small tertiary providers.

This quasi-experimental research study evaluated two intact undergraduate engineering statics classes at a private university in Texas. Students in the control group received traditional lecture, readings and homework assignments. Those in the experimental group also were given access to a complete set of online video lectures and videos demonstrating how each type of mathematical problem was solved through the learning management system. Overall, students in the experimental group perceived course material more positively than those in the control group and felt the additional material was useful. The experimental group had slightly improved cumulative test scores, but these differences were not statistically significant.

This pilot study evaluated users' perceptions of the effectiveness of the VineUp platform to match mentors from a large United States manufacturing firm and mechanical engineering students in an honors program at a small private university. Four mentor/mentee pairs were surveyed and interviewed at the end of the nine-month program. Although the VineUp platform was effective in matching mentor/mentee pairs, participants felt the process could have been done with an alternate method that was more cost effective.

Student self-plagiarism is a confusing issue for both faculty and students alike. This problem is compounded because both groups perceive the concept very differently. Recent literature regarding these perceptions is reviewed and some brief preliminary results of an exploratory multi-university study of student perceptions of self-plagiarism are presented. Key findings in these preliminary results are compared to a previous study at the same universities which measured faculty perceptions towards self-plagiarism. Approximately 60% of both faculty and students do not truly understand self-plagiarism. In addition, almost 60% of students felt there was no need to cite their previous unpublished works, while approximately 80% of faculty considered this to be self-plagiarism. Some recommendations on ways for faculty and administrators to handle self-plagiarism are discussed, as well as the need to have specific institutional policies and procedures that address this issue in place. Faculty are becoming more aware of this issue as the use of plagiarism detection programs increase.

Faculty development for interprofessional (IP) teaching and learning is a complex and evolving part of educators' preparation for IP teaching and learning. A review of the literature highlighted a gap of rigorous research in the area of faculty development for interprofessional education (IPE). This pilot study used a mixed-methods approach to explore how faculty development affected educators' preparedness for IP teaching and looked at the possible effects of IP and teaching experiences. Pre- and post-faculty development evaluations were captured using validated instruments and helped to explore the impact faculty development had on educators' preparedness for IPE. The qualitative data offered insights using participants' perspectives about IPE where the quantitative method could not. This pilot study offers findings that explored important characteristics that may have a role in faculty preparation for IPE teach and learning and could possibly be used in future research.

This study explores student perceptions of engagement, transactional distance, and outcomes in online courses. Researchers also investigated linkages between these elements. Data were collected from students enrolled in online courses at three private universities located at different geographical regions in the United States. Six hundred sixty-seven students completed the Revised Scale of Transactional Distance developed by Paul, Swart, Zhang, and MacLeod and a modified version of Dixson's Online Student Engagement scale during spring 2016 semester. Results indicate students experienced a relatively high level of engagement and a moderate level of transactional distance. Respondents perceived outcomes such as satisfaction, progression, and learning very positively. There were significant differences in responses based on gender and college standing. Student engagement, transactional distance, and outcomes were moderately correlated, and researchers confirmed transactional distance is a valid predictor of student engagement.

This purpose of this qualitative study was to gather detailed information about student perceptions of self-plagiarism and the perceived effectiveness of a brief self-plagiarism video tutorial. Semi-structured interviews (n = 7) were conducted and health sciences doctoral students were queried regarding their knowledge and perceptions of self- plagiarism. The population for this study was new doctoral students, as well as students who had committed self-plagiarism during the semester. Overall, participants reported a specific self-plagiarism intervention was more helpful in preventing self- plagiarism than a traditional plagiarism intervention and that the intervention should be included in initial program orientation. Overwhelmingly, students did not believe self- plagiarism was a serious academic offense and think they own their intellectual property and unpublished works.

The purpose of this study was to assess student perceptions of self-plagiarism. Students at three university campuses offering graduate and undergraduate classes in a residential and online format were queried; 284 students responded. Overwhelmingly, students perceived they owned their own previous published works and over half reported they believed self-plagiarism should not be considered an academic honesty offense. Most faculty members did not provide information about self-plagiarism to their students. Only about one-fourth of the students reported recycling parts of an assignment in the past. Students who took online courses were more likely to have been educated about self-plagiarism than those who took residential courses. Understanding students' perceptions about academic honesty offenses such as plagiarism can help institutions develop effective policies and interventions.

There are no universal, precise, or explicit criteria for completing a doctoral degree successfully. Researchers and practitioners have pointed out how difficult and time consuming the supervision of graduate student research can be. When students in doctoral programs complete their degrees via distance delivery, supervision of graduate students becomes even more difficult for both students and supervisors. The goal of the research was to investigate doctoral students' perceptions of supervision and to understand doctoral student satisfaction with graduate supervision where programs were delivered utilizing a variety of distance systems. Statistically significant differences in student responses were found based on gender. While students whose programs were primarily delivered online were moderately satisfied, students who were in the blended programs were more satisfied. Other differences were detected between online and blended doctoral supervision environments. Certainly, these media for supervision warrant further investigation as distance and blended doctoral programs increase.

Eighty-four students in an online health education doctoral program taking the first course in the program over one year (four quarters) were surveyed in regards to their computer, Internet, and online course anxiety, and overall course satisfaction. An 18-item anxiety tool with domains in computer, Internet, and online learning was administered in the first and last weeks of an educational research course to assess for changes in student anxiety. A 24-item satisfaction tool with domains regarding the instructor, technology, setup, interaction, outcomes, and overall satisfaction was administered at the end of the course. Results show a significant negative correlation between anxiety and student satisfaction. Student anxiety levels were in the relatively moderate range; changes in anxiety levels over time were not significant. Participants who felt anxious when using computers or the Internet, or when taking online courses experienced anxiety with other domains. (Contains 6 tables and 3 figures.)