Public universities and colleges

The purpose of this study was to determine differences in online student
perception of the quality of instruction between online instructors who did and did not
complete faculty training for online instruction. There has been very little research
identifying the factors influencing online students perception on quality of instruction,
specifically at Florida public institutions. This research is important in establishing if
public universities should require some level of training before an instructor can teach
online. Experiencing poor quality of instruction can negatively impact an online student
academically, which can, in turn, be detrimental to a university’s student retention and
graduation rates.
This study adds to the current body of research regarding improvement of the
quality of instruction in online courses based on the online students perception of faculty
and the completion of faculty training for online instruction. The results of this study demonstrated no significant difference overall in student perception of quality of
instruction between online instructors who did and did not complete faculty training as
measured in courses with five or more student respondents. Additional results revealed
that multiple academic colleges demonstrated a significant difference in student
perception of quality of instruction. This study also discovered a slight negative effect of
online faculty training on other areas of student satisfaction that did not include quality of
instruction. Recommendations for future research are provided, including those for the
improvement of online faculty training, university policy, and faculty and student
preparation for online teaching and learning, respectively.

Public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are facing many challenges
including state funding, competition, and maintaining the best possible
graduation rate. This study: (1) examined the strategic plans and strategic
planning processes to explore how, and to what extent, these tool are being used
to address these challenges; and (2) explored the extent to which continuous
process improvement is included in strategic planning efforts.
A qualitative research design employing a grounded theory approach was
used in this study. The researcher reviewed the perceptions of the participants
at each of four selected public institutions regarding strategic planning
processes, including their beliefs with regard to process improvement as a
component of the strategic planning process. Perceived facilitators and detractors of strategic planning and its implementation were also examined.
Finally, the researcher sought to design an improved model for strategic planning
in higher education that takes continuous process improvement into
consideration as a basic component of the approach to planning.
The dominant theme that emerged from the data analysis concerned state
funding, as performance-based funding offers an opportunity to acquire
additional funds. Graduation rate was identified as a core component of student
success. Competition from emerging sectors was not a specific topic of
discussion during the strategic planning processes.
Forty-one percent of participants indicated that some form of process
improvement structure exists at their institution, often related to accreditation
reviews and was outside of the strategic planning process. 53% of the
responses to the question, “What do you believe would be the impact of having
process improvement as an integral component in the strategic planning
process?” replied that it would be good or beneficial if it were carried out in a
meaningful manner. Twenty-nine percent of the 53% stated that process
improvement efforts are often performed for it’s own sake, and that including
process improvement in the strategic planning process should be done in a
manner that adds value to the strategic planning process and the institution.
Through the analysis of the approaches to strategic planning examined in
this study, the researcher offers a new strategic planning model for HEIs
grounded in the findings.