Development and Validation of the Online Instructor Support Survey (OISS)

Online instructors play a critical role in online student success and need various forms of institutional support to succeed in online teaching. This article describes the creation, validation, and results of the Online Instructor Support Survey (OISS) based on seven areas identified in the literature: (a) technology infrastructure; (b) technical support; (c) online course development and teaching; (d) instructor rewards and incentives; (e) administrative and academic support; (f) institutional policies and culture; and (g) program and legal support. Online instructor (N = 275) responses highlighted areas of support that are largely prevalent and areas where further support and awareness of such support is needed at higher education institutions. A 7-factor model explained 67% of the variance in these data. A discussion and limitations are provided.