1. Demand vs. Hiring Attitudes for Online Doctoral Technical Education
Jim Flowers, Prof. & Director of Online Ed.
Holly Baltzer, Research Assistant
Ball State University, Muncie, IN
Supported in part by the Council on Technology Teacher Education Research Incentive Grant Program
23rd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning, Madison, WI,

2. Technical Education Technology Education (Industrial Arts, Shop)
Career & Technical Education (Vocational Education)

3. Ball State University Long history of Technical Education
Decision to offer two master’s online in 2002
MA in Technology Education
MA in Career & Technical Education

4. 2000 Nationwide Demand Survey for Placing Master’s Online
Informed the decision to go online.
Was used to pave the way for acceptance.
Provided data on a new target population.
Became a model for other program proposals.
Flowers, J. (2001). Online learning needs in technology education. J. of Technology Education, 13(1), Retrieved July 11, 2007 from
Instrument:

5. Since Going Online in 2002 Enrollment growth
Analysis: Flowers, J. (2005). The effect of online delivery on graduate enrollment. J. of Industrial Teacher Education, 42(4),
Update:
Inquiries about possibly offering an online or hybrid doctoral degree

6. Online Education Online Education in the US is growing
Enrollments are increasing.*
Becoming a part of many institutions long-term strategies.*
However, it is not growing uniformly
Doctoral programs have the least program penetration (institutions offering the same program face-to-face and online.)*
Technology education fits this trend.
* Source: Allen, I. E., and Seaman, J., (2005). Growing by degrees: Online education in the United States, Needham, MA: Sloan-C. Retrieved October 18, 2006 from
Be sure to define penetration and say from where. Be sure to say what we mean by Technical Education.

7. 2005 Program Penetration Rates
the “proportion of institutions that offer a particular type of face-to-face course or program [and] provide the same type of offering online” (p. 5)
Bachelor’s: 29.9%
Master’s: 43.6%
Doctoral: 12.4%
Source: Allen, I. E., and Seaman, J., (2005). Growing by degrees: Online education in the United States, Needham, MA: Sloan-C. Retrieved October 18, 2006 from

8. Technology Education Online?

9. Technology Education Online
Technology education has begun to utilize online education in Bachelors and Masters programs.
Despite the critical need for researchers and university faculty in the field, Doctoral level distance programs have only recently begun to emerge (e.g., Old Dominion.)
There is still much concern over the employability of those with a doctoral degree earned at a distance. (Adams, J., & DeFleur, M. (2005). The acceptability of a doctoral degree earned online as a credential for obtaining a faculty position. The American Journal of Distance Education, 19(2), )

10. Difficulties in Hiring TE Faculty
Source: Brown, D. (2002). Supply and Demand Analysis of Industrial Teacher Education Faculty. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 40(1),

11. Difficulties in Hiring TE Faculty
75% of Brown’s (2002) respondents found applicant pool “inadequate.”
Source: Brown, D. (2002). Supply and Demand Analysis of Industrial Teacher Education Faculty. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 40(1),

12. 4-Phase Study:
Perceived demand for an online or hybrid doctoral program from a survey of prospective students
Hiring attitudes towards those with a doctoral degree earned online
Status of current doctoral programs
Models for online and hybrid doctoral education

13. Phase 1: Perceived demand for an online or hybrid doctoral program from a survey of prospective students
Flowers, J., & Baltzer, H. (2006). Perceived demand for online and hybrid doctoral programs in technical education. J. of Industrial Teacher Education, 43(4), (Published February, 2007)

14. Survey Sample Survey sample: Membership of
International Technology Education Association (ITEA)
Association of Technical Education (ATEA)
Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE, declined out request to survey it members)
Sample was divided into those who had (DOC) and those who had not previously earned (ND) a doctoral degree.

15. Return
Of those who had not earned a doctoral degree, only data from respondents who indicated they had a desire to pursue a doctoral degree (ND) were analyzed.
Overall return rate was 532 out of 3760
281 discarded because of no interest in doctoral studies
181 in ND group
70 in DOC group

16. Instruments Online survey items included:
Demographics such as highest degree earned, number of years to retirement;
Motivations for doctoral studies;
Perceived obstacles to doctoral studies including suggestions to overcome obstacles;
Appeal of face-to-face vs. online delivery;
Likelihood of pursuing a doctoral degree based on the method of delivery (ND only); and
Open-ended comments

17. Instruments Pilot Testing Examples

18. Demographics ND
Majority were secondary school teachers, minorities of lecturers, professors and graduate assistants.
74% had completed a master’s, 24% a bachelor’s.
Median years to retirement between
DOC
Majority were professors or deans.
Median number of years since the doctorate was earned was 15.
Median years to retirement fell between the 5-10 and year ranges.

19. Reported Motivation
When asked about primary motivation with answer choices: ‘pay raise,’ ‘status/position advancement at current job,’ ‘to be eligible for a new job,’ ‘personal fulfillment,’ and ‘other.’
Both groups indicated that ‘personal fulfillment,’ and ‘eligibility for a new job,’ were statistically greater motivations than ‘pay raise,’ and ‘status/position advancement at current job.’ (p ≤ .001)

20. Perceived Obstacles
Found all three obstacles from Rogers (2002)*, time commitment, location of nearest university, and financial costs to be ‘moderate.’
When asked how a university might overcome their most insurmountable obstacle, ND overwhelming support for flexibility in time and space and DOC suggested ways of taking financial burden off.
An illustration: Both groups were asked an item concerning the amount of time, not during the summer, they would have to devote to doctoral studies.
So, even though there was statistical difference there does seem to be a difference in attitude stuff.
*Rogers, G. (October, 2002). Technology education doctoral programs: Key factors influencing participation. The Technology Teacher-e.

21. Discrepancy that indicates:
The need for more flexibility in time by programs
The need for a reality-check by prospective doctoral students

22. Perceived Appeal
“Compared to a face-to-face doctoral program, how much more or less appealing is an online doctoral program?”
ND indicated appeal was significantly greater than neutral (p < .001)
DOC indicated appeal was significantly less than neutral (p < .001)
Not surprising since doc was earned about 15 years ago when online programs did not exist.

23. Likelihood to Pursue
ND group was asked three questions concerning the likelihood that they would pursue a doctoral program that was face-to-face, hybrid or online.

24. A decrease in the required time on-campus increases the likelihood this sample will enroll in doctoral studies.

25. Reduced Tuition?
Are/Would you have been you more likely to consider an online doctoral program if it offered reduced tuition:
Non-Doc: 90% Yes (n=181)
Doc: 41% Yes (n =68)

26. Graduate Assistantships?
Are/Were you limited to an institution that awarded graduate assistantships to students pursuing a doctorate?
Non-Doc: 34% Yes (n = 180)
Doc: 52% Yes (n = 68)

27. Comments
ND group was in support of the idea of a distance doctoral program in technical education.
Strong concerns over the quality of the program, and seemed more in support of a hybrid model over a full online model despite the previous graph
DOC group was in opposition to distance doctoral program.
Extremely concerned over the quality of program, especially because of the lack of personal contact with an advisor

28. Perceived Demand Conclusions
This study found demand for an online or hybrid doctoral program from prospective students,
with more support for a hybrid model from prospective students, and more tolerance for a hybrid model from those who had attended a traditional doctoral program.

29. Phase 2: Hiring attitudes towards those with a doctoral degree earned online
Flowers, J., & Baltzer, H.* (2006). Hiring technical education faculty: Vacancies, Criteria, and Attitudes toward Online Doctoral Degrees. J. of Industrial Teacher Education, 43(3),

30. Hiring Attitudes
The need for higher education faculty in technical education is greater than the supply of doctoral educated candidates. (Brown, D. (2002). Supply and demand analysis of industrial teacher education faculty. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 40(1), )
Applicants in various fields with doctoral degrees earned face-to-face are preferred over applicants with doctoral degrees earned at a distance. (Adams, J., & DeFleur, M. (2005). The acceptability of a doctoral degree earned online as a credential for obtaining a faculty position. The American Journal of Distance Education, 19(2), )
So if a distance doctoral program in technical education were to be created, would the people with these degrees get jobs?

31. Purpose
This study was aimed at determining if the stigma against those who earned their doctoral degree at a distance holds true in the field of technical education, and if so, what justifications for this stigma are given from those who make hiring decisions.

32. Survey Sample
Survey sample was chairs and coordinators for bachelor’s and master’s level programs in technical education who are directly involved in their departments hiring practices.
28 out 94 possible candidates returned the survey.

33. Instrument Online survey items included:
Current and predicted faculty vacancies;
Factors in hiring decisions; and
Respondents’ perceptions of the likelihood that their institution would hire an individual with an online doctoral degree
Online Instrument:

34. Results: Vacancies
Respondents indicated than both tenure-track and non-tenure track vacancies would likely increase within the next three years.
Also indicated that it would be ‘moderately difficult’ to attract qualified applicants to these positions.

35. Hiring Criteria
The survey asked respondents to rank criteria hiring decisions based on importance between 1- ‘very little’ and 5- ‘very much.’
‘having a doctorate or ABD’ mean = 4.86
‘ability to teach particular course work’ m = 4.64
‘ability to communicate effectively’ m = 4.64
‘ability to work well with others’ m = 4.64

36. Hiring a Candidate with an Online Doctorate?.
Respondents were asked, “Do you believe your institution would be less likely or more likely to hire an individual to a tenure track [non-tenure track] position because their doctorate was earned through an online program?”
The sample indicated their institutions were significantly less likely.
Tenure track p = .001
Non-tenure track p = .006

37. Justifications
Main justifications given from respondents for bias against hiring those with an online doctoral degree:
They did not feel a doctoral degree had the same level of credibility or quality that a face-to-face program would have.
They felt that personal interaction is critical part of doctoral education that cannot be adequately achieved online.

38. Phase 1 & 2: Conclusions
There is demand from prospective students for a distance doctoral program .
However, concerns over quality must addressed to the satisfaction of potential employers if those earning such a degree are to be competitive .
When we combine the results of the two studies…

39. Recommendations
Quality assurance of a distance doctoral program must be rigorous.
Greater flexibility in time is likely to be attractive to potential students of a distance doctoral program.
A hybrid model that incorporates personal face-to-face contact may be one way to help those earning the degree be employable.

40. What’s next? P1: Demand: Good P2: Employability: Poor
P3: Status of Doc Programs: Diverse
P4: Models for Online Doctoral Ed.?
Ball State: Not pursuing an online or hybrid doctoral offering in TE at this time.

41. Success Model to gather data to inform a decision to go online
Better-informed decision making
Documentation that could be used to support proposals

42. Demand vs. Hiring Attitudes for Online Doctoral Technical Education
Jim Flowers, Prof. & Director of Online Ed.
Holly Baltzer, Research Assistant
Ball State University, Muncie, IN
Homepage:
This Presentation: jcflowers1.iweb.bsu.edu/pres/2007distance/demand3.ppt