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 2 master’s online in 2002

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

5. Since Going Online in 2002 Amazing program growth
Flowers, J. (2005). The effect of online delivery on graduate enrollment. J. of Industrial Teacher Education, 42(4), Retrieved July 11, 2007 from
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
Be sure to define penetration and say from where. Be sure to say what we mean by Technical Education.

7. 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.

8. 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

9. 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)

10. Perceived Demand: Methods
Survey population:
ITEA
ATEA
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.

11. Methods cont.
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

12. Perceived Demand: Instrument
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

13. Results: DemographicsND
Majority were secondary school teachers, minorities of lecturers, professors and graduate assistants
74% had completed a MA, 24% a bachelors
Median years to retirement between 21-25
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

14. Results: 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)

15. Results: 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.

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

17. Results: 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.

18. Results: 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.

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

20. Results: 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

21. 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

22. 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),

23. Hiring Attitudes
Studies have shown that the need for higher education faculty in technical education is greater than the supply of doctoral educated candidates
Studies had also shown that applicants with doctoral degrees earned face-to-face are preferred over applicants with doctoral degrees earned at a distance
So if a distance doctoral program in technical education were to be created, would the people with these degrees get jobs?

24. Hiring Attitudes cont.
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
What are the justifications for this stigma given from those who make hiring decisions

25. Hiring Attitudes: Methods
Population was chairs and coordinators for bachelors and masters level programs in technical education who are directly involved in their departments hiring practices
28 out 94 possible candidates returned the survey
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

26. Hiring Attitudes: Results
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

27. Results cont.
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

28. Results cont.
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

29. Results cont.
Main justifications given from respondents for their 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
Personal interaction in a doctoral program is critical part of doctoral education and that cannot be achieved online

30. 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…

31. 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

32. 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

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

34. Demand vs. Hiring Attitudes for Online Doctoral Technical Education
Jim Flowers, Prof. & Director of Online Ed.
Holly Baltzer, Research Assistant
Ball State University
Supported in part by the Council on Technology Teacher Education Research Incentive Grant Program