The ‘woeful’ state of administrative support for online programmes: A critical discourse analysis

Abstract

This study used critical discourse analysis to explore how higher education administrators in the United States talk about how they assess and support online programmes. Specifically, we hoped to analyse administrators' perceptions of their responsibilities over online programmes, faculty and students, to attain where they may need more training. Therefore, we explored the perspectives of 11 administrators at both the mid-level administrative and campus senior administrative levels who oversee online programmes in U.S. higher education. Our findings suggest that mid-level administrators hold pivotal roles in communicating needs, administrators are not viewing their online faculty holistically, current online programmes assessment is insufficient and concern for student engagement is often neglected. Implications for research and practice include additional investigation of the online faculty experience and the development of administrative training specifically focused on the needs of online programming and online faculty support.