The latest Sloan Report "Strong Faculty Engagement in Online Learning APLU Reports" makes interesting reading.
Faculty do feel it takes more time to teach an online course. I have heard this often, but I wonder if it is true. If faculty teach only online then they do not have to get dressed, get to the school, walk to the classroom, etc. They do have to correct papers but they would need to do that anyway. I wonder how many online faculty spend more than the credit hours (usually 3) participating in online discussions. They would be doing this in the class also.
One thing I do agree with is the faculty perception that there is not enough institutional support. I think all institutions with online programs should have robust support for online faculty and students. This includes having an Instructional Technologist for faculty to contact and an 800 number and web site for questions.
