Online education is no longer a peripheral phenomenon in higher education: over one-third of faculty members have taught or developed an online course. As institutions of higher education expand their online education offerings, administrators need to recognize that supporting faculty members through the use of incentives and through effective faculty development programs for online instruction is important to the improvement of the quality of educational programs. This quantitative study used an online survey to investigate the types and frequency of faculty development programs for online instruction at institutions with an established teaching and learning development unit (TLDU). The average TLDU offered about fifteen different types of faculty development programs, the most common being websites, technical services, printed materials, and consultation with instructional design experts. Findings indicate that some faculty development programs for online instruction are being offered more frequently; this increase has resource and staffing implications for the support of these programs.

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As online education grows, so does the need for professional development for faculty teaching online courses. This chapter explains how a faculty development technique, small group individual diagnosis, was adapted to the online environment. This technique provides faculty with anonymous midsemester feedback from students regarding the quality of the course. The timing and nature of this feedback is the impetus for a teaching consultation with a trained facilitator. In this study, surprising challenges emerged when the technique was adapted to the online environment. Faculty perceptions of the success of the online diagnoses are shared.

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