Are online positions drying up?

Discussion in 'Online & DL Teaching' started by math_professor, Jul 5, 2016.

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  1. math_professor

    math_professor New Member

    It seems like there are a lot fewer online positions than there were just a couple of years ago! Is this just my imagination or is the golden era of online teaching over?

    Even UoP is not offering any online positions!

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  2. catlin0915

    catlin0915 New Member

    Really?

    I keep reading that there are more universities opening online programs. Maybe they are causing other schools to shutdown departments... I know there's a huge debate about student debt. Are less students as a whole enrolling in higher education?
     
  3. math_professor

    math_professor New Member

    No I don't think there are less students enrolling in higher education, but it seems that the fully online universities are either on their way out or already gone. For example Kaplan, Devry, UoP and a lot of other places seem to have WAY more openings for their on-ground campus locations than online.

    It might be true that more traditional universities are opening online programs but maybe it's the in-house faculty teaching these courses because I don't see too many positions being listed on their job boards anymore.
     
  4. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    This is more or less what I was thinking. I'd only add that most of these schools are routinely producing newly minted PhDs who, as we know, face an uncertain future in the college job market. Many might be pleased to pick up some courses while they search for full-time positions. They have the advantage of being known commodities and as TAs are probably already familiar with university teaching infrastructure, university policies, etc.
     
  5. jonlevy

    jonlevy Active Member

    Hard to say, I think Kaplan (Graham Holdings) is shrinking while SNHU is growing for example. The failure of Corinthian certainly did not help. More and more state schools seem to have online components but no idea who is hired, if anyone. At this point anyone with less than a PhD is going to have trouble and the days of JDs being deemed qualified to teach poli sci and other courses are numbered (they are not, a JD is a professional not an academic degree).
     
  6. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Back in the '90s, I had a JD holder teach the course I took at Strayer University on Systems Analysis and Design. (And it was actually one of the best courses I ever took.) But I agree that now that sort of thing seems less likely.
     
  7. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    It's already happened in the criminal justice field. There are two professors in my PhD program whose highest degree is a JD, but they started teaching decades ago. Now, when I look at job ads for criminology and criminal justice positions, a lot of them make it clear that a JD is not sufficient.
     
  8. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    That seems crazy to me, especially due to what some of these positions pay.
     
  9. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    Are there enough PhD's applying to online positions to make a Master's less attractive schools?
     
  10. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    I meant, "Are there enough PhD's applying to online positions to make a Master's less attractive to schools?"

    I don't know what's been up with my typing lately but it's starting to concern me a bit :-(
     
  11. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    I think it's largely a product of our lousy economy. Too many people are either unemployed or underemployed, even those with graduate degrees. When the economy is good and there are fewer applicants for each position, employers sometimes have to take what they can get. When the economy is bad and employers are flooded with applicants, they can be as picky as they want.
     
  12. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    That's about it. It has been a buyers market for employers for a VERY long time now.
     
  13. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Every month these online programs crank out a new batch of Masters graduates.

    Considering how many people come here saying they want a Masters for the sole purpose of landing an adjunct gig how many people do you suppose have the same goal and don't come here to check in first?
     
  14. scaredrain

    scaredrain Member

    There are many adjunct positions in the traditional classroom. At my university, we have a hard time filling traditional seated adjunct positions and this is with classes being offered one night a week for 5 weeks, for 4 hours. We can fill our online adjunct positions in 1 day for the entire year, as we have high demand for adjuncts who solely wish to teach online.
     
  15. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    This is an interesting question and I've actually thought about it a bit over the years. I used to say to myself, "I wish more online students (and there are a LOT of them) would come to DI and tell us about there programs." They don't though because 1) they're busy 2) they never heard of us 3) they don't care 4) all of the above. Even if you thought of our 25K+ members as being real, active members, it still constitutes a small fraction of the number of online/DL students in the last 15 years. So, you're right, most people in the larger online learning community aren't members here (although there are a huge number of lurkers who never register)
     
  16. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    What is the pay for teaching one in-class course?
    Does the faculty member create their own syllabus or is a pre-drafted syllabus used?
    What kinds of in-class courses are you having difficulty filling with adjuncts?
    Why don't adjuncts want to teach those in-class courses?
     
  17. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I don't think that online teaching jobs are drying up, I believe it's that after the initial online/DL boom several years ago, schools not only filled their open slots, but also developed an applicant pool to draw from, resulting in infrequent vacancies. I've also noticed that more and more schools are requiring online faculty to have doctorates, even for undergraduate courses, limiting the applicant pool.

    Why? Because they can.

    I teach both online and in-seat, and there are advantages to both. It's great to teach in my pajamas after work, but there's also the impersonal aspect, where you really don't get to know your students. Classroom teaching pays better, you really get to know your students, but there's the hassle of set class times, commuting, etc.
     
  18. scaredrain

    scaredrain Member

    The pay is 2100 to 2700 usd per course depending on your degree. The syllabus is already created. The courses are business, technology, finance, management, leadership, accounting, economics, healthcare management etc..the adjuncts we have are mostly working professional adults, as there was a movement by the university to pursue adjuncts who actually have experience in their respective fields instead of a person merely having a masters degree and no experience at all. Many of the adjuncts want to teach online after working throughout the day. The university is once again shifting to filling positions with people who meet the minimum requirement of a masters with 18 graduate hours in the subject, but this is a last resort if we cannot find an adjunct with the degree and experience.
     

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