Abstract

This paper addresses whether or not gender and/or tenure status can affect a faculty member’s perception of web-based learning materials. Specifically, perceptions about the effectiveness of web-based materials and whether creating these materials affects a faculty member’s chances for promotion and tenure. The survey was conducted in 2002 and again in 2008 to measure perceptions and also to see if perceptions have changed over time. One dimension of creating web-based learning materials is the search for and integration of web resources into the course content. There has been a considerable increase in the array of Internet resources since the 2002 survey and many of them can affect instruction/learning. You Tube was created in 2005 and has already become a virtual guest lecture source with videos including everything from Thomas Friedman presenting lectures on “The World is Flat” to Gordon Moore speaking on his view of the next 40 years of “Moore’s Law.” Many universities have created Second Life sites for arning communities and individual courses. It could be argued that the increase in the availability of such web-based resources would lead to a view of increased impact on instruction/learning and that faculty utilizing such resources and incorporating them into their course materials would be rewarded with greater chances of promotion and tenure. Our analysis shows that, as a whole, there was no statistically significant change in faculty perceptions between 2002 and 2008 on either the effectiveness of Web-based learning materials or the impact that the creation and use of those materials on the tenure process. However, when we categorize faculty by tenure status and gender the perceptions of tenured, male faculty on the effectiveness of Web-based materials did fall significantly.

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