Virtual Teams in Education

The future of business is not in brick and mortar				telephone use is not unexpected considering the
institutions as historically viewed. The proliferation				worldwide locations of BU students.
and miniaturization of communications mediums,				Probing deeper, email use is actually higher from
cellular telephone, fax, Internet, personal data				instructor to student. Within the Cyberactice®
devices, and lap top computers, make offices				environment there is a tab titled
available where people are – not where the				“Communication.” Within this link is an
office is.				option to send an email to all or select users. All
Carpenter (1998) wrote the internet is more				adjuncts confirmed this option is the choice they
versatile for communication than any medium				use to send messages to individuals, select
available today. People can interact with individuals				groups, or an entire class. When probed,
or groups, they can identify by name,				instructors agreed they use this email option
pseudonym, or be anonymous. She says the				regularly. After another query into percentage of
internet is “…a virtual community				communication by email using the
where people meet, engage in discourse, become				Cyberactive® email option, instructors replied
friends, fall in love, and develop all of the				their email communication is higher, up to 50
relationships that are developed in physical				percent. It is important to clarify that instructors
communities” (pg. 1).				did not directly associate email in the
However, the internet may not be a panacea.				Cyberactive® environment with other email
The internet goes beyond technology into social				engines.
interaction. Organizations face a dilemma of				There were very broad concerns expressed by
encouraging successful interactions and				the interviewees and all were technical, from
community building online. Statistics suggest almost				needing more technical support to wanting less
ten million people work in virtual offices and that				technical support. This question needed more
40 percent of large organizations have policies on				clarification. The respondents confirmed their
telecommuting. Yet, Carpenter (1998), cited				meaning of technical support as surrounding the
above, says virtual employment equals only seven				electronic classroom. Although all online instructors
to ten percent of the work force.				must complete the Online Facilitators Course, four
Why hasn’t the virtual office flourished?				of the five realized their attention to it was not
Sociologists suggest it is the need for informal				the best possible. Challenged for why the four did
interaction – office banter. Organizations are				not participate more in the facilitator course, they
stubborn to accept virtual teams believing team				admitted to “filling a square” to teach
projects work best carried out over conference				online. All replied there are times when they all call
tables and virtual workers can only participate in				or email the Cyberactive® Help Desk for
individual assignments. Still other organizations				assistance.
believe virtual workers do not receive adequate				Another unanimous concern was how well
supervision. However, is the problem supervision				prepared students are to enter an electronic
or trust?				classroom. Each respondent related at least one
Kohrell (2005), an adjunct professor at Bellevue				story of a student ill prepared to study online.
University, is president of Technology As				Instructor receives a profile of each student in
Promised. He is a specialist in developing virtual				class, therefore a follow up question on student
teams and addresses developing trust on virtual				age suggested age was less a concern than
teams. He explains virtual trust in simple terms.				students’ career and regular use of
Virtual trust is getting on an airplane, not knowing				computers for email, topic research, and
the air traffic controllers, yet trusting they are				understanding of inter- versus intra-net.
doing their jobs correctly. He explains building				Feeling as Part of a Team
virtual trust through communication –				The adjuncts all feel they are part of a work
frequently, with integrity, with certainty and				team. Specifically, they felt part of their work
predictability.				team, part of the Cyberactive® classroom
Other data, taken with Kohrell’s, also				group, but not closely connected to the University.
supports the economics of the virtual office.				The reason given is distance from the physical
Verma (2005) offers some information that				location – Bellevue, Nebraska. They did
shows senior executives from Europe, Asia, and				report steps taken by the College of Professional
the Unites States report cost savings (69				Studies as helping them become more connected.
percent) and increased productivity (64 percent)				One example they all like is the weekly email of
when using telecommuting. Verma cites				the campus bulletin, another is periodic email
comments of Joe Roitz, AT&T. Roitz said,				messages of faculty development seminars.
“Telework alone generates over $150				Faculty development seminars are now video
million annually in productivity increases, real estate				taped, converted to digital media, and available in
savings, and enhanced retention for				streaming video online or DVD format mailed.
AT&T.” These statistics suggest				Supporting some of the research reported earlier,
business recognize change and develop strategies				the respondents felt disconnected from the
for successful change.				University and more connected if they could
Tucker, Kao, and Verma (2005) write there are				make trips to the campus, meet with program
trends in employment that organizations cannot				directors, deans, and fellow faculty members.
ignore. One point they make is the work force				Clarifying this point, they did not feel under
globally is getting smaller. They also recognize that				supervised, rather did not feel a personal
cultural norms are different now, more loose.				(personally) connected. An expectation was that
Adding to the mix is more freedom for people to				those now adjuncts who were Bellevue University
move globally. They point out there are personnel				students would feel more connected. While the
trends that organizations can count on				former students felt more connected, they too
1. Smaller and less sufficiently skilled				did not feel a close bond.
2. Increasingly global				The discussion moved to questions of leadership.
3. Highly virtual				Specifically asked was how well do they know
4. Vastly diverse, and				(know of) the University leadership team. All knew
5. Autonomous and empowered				names and positions of the president, provost,
They conclude that leadership focus within these				deans, and program directors. They did not know
trends “demand a new generation of talent				any of the names associated with positions of
management.” This new talent				senior administrative people and senior people
management has to take some strategic steps to				outside their particular college. Asked if they knew
manage the new work force in future oriented				any names of board members, each knew U.S.
organizations. Those steps are:				Senator Chuck Hagel is a board member. Others
1. Predictive Workforce Monitoring and Strategic				knew names of benefactors thinking they were
Talent Decision Making				board members.
2. Flexible and Anticipatory Talent Sourcing				Tying the interviews together, the discussion
3. Customized and Personalized Rewards and				turned to specifics of communication. The focus
Communications				at this stage was the level of interdepartmental
4. Distributed and Influential Leadership				communication compared to intradepartmental
5. Unified and Compassionate Cultures				communication. Those interviewed commented
Computer-mediated Communication (CMC)				that intradepartmental communication was good.
It is important to discuss CMC as virtual workers				Adjuncts knew, through email and/or telephone
depend on – rely on –				communication, their program director, some or all
computer-mediated communication. Jones (1998)				the department faculty. All reported a lack of
cites Patton (1986) in discussion about highway				knowledge outside their program area. An adjunct
building as a means to connect people to one				in healthcare administration is unlikely to
another. Patton observed that highways have not				cross-communicate with faculty from
connected us rather increased our sense of				management or leadership. An instructor in
separateness. Cities are divided, neighborhoods				business administration will not know anyone
split, city intimacy destroyed. From this negative				teaching in human resources or security
view, Jones concludes the internet may actually				management. Distant adjuncts in the College of
do what highways failed to do				Professional Studies seem isolated from faculty
Computer-mediated communication, it seams, will				members of other colleges. Generally, faculty
do by way of electronic pathways what cement				members in one college do not teach in other
roads were unable to do, namely, connect us				colleges.
rather than atomize us, put us at the controls of				The interviewees made recommendations to
a “vehicle” and yet not detach us				improve communication ranging from more email
from the rest of the world. (pg. 3)				communication to making trips to the campus to
CMC offers new realms for social scientists to				meet the staff. Trips to campus from distant
study. Traditionally, social scientists observed				locations seemed impractical from a cost aspect
communities within certain identified boundary.				because such a trip would not be at university
However, new cyber societies exist without				expense. Asked how to improve electronic
bounds and determination of membership in cyber				communication, all agreed more is better. Citing an
society does not satisfy traditional categories				example of missed opportunity, they said the
given community.				university produces a faculty roster and places it
Education in Cyber Society				on the server “shared drive.”
What does this mean in terms of education? The				However, distant locations do not have access to
United States Department of Education (US-DOE)				the internal system.
provides a look into higher education statistics for				Personal Experience
twelve months 2000 to 2001. US-DOE figures				Stated early in this paper, I am an online adjunct
from that period show 56 percent (2320)				but live in the community the university calls
post-secondary two- and four-year schools had				home. This gives me a different perspective
online courses. Another twelve percent desire to				because I can personally interact with instructors
go online within the next three years. Finally, 31				from different colleges and programs. After five
percent said they would not go online. Clearly,				years in administration as a graduate enrollment
two-thirds of colleges and universities have or				counselor, I developed personal networks with
want online educational opportunities for students.				many senior program directors and deans. For
What does this mean for faculty? The following				nearly the same period, I was an adjunct, first in
paragraph addresses that question.				the College of Arts and Sciences and now in CPS.
The Higher Learning Commission accredits				I taught Organizational Communication in a
Bellevue University in Nebraska. It has an online				face-to-face classroom and Leadership online.
presence offering 17 undergraduate degree				Validating the interviewees’ comments,
completion programs online and 7 graduate				communication to adjuncts has been limited. One
degree programs online. The College of				limiting factor was the capability of the university
Professional Studies (CPS) of Bellevue University				email server to support several hundred email
administers all of the undergraduate degree				addresses. This problem is resolved with the
programs. CPS administers three of the seven				installation of a new larger email server. Another
graduate degrees, MBA and Master of Arts in				limiting factor was not all adjuncts had a
Management reside in the College of Business, and				“(name) @” university email address.
MS Computer Information Systems and MS				An initiative of the Quality Council was requiring all
Management of Information Systems reside in				adjuncts have an internal email address and
the College of Information Technology. Although				remote access to the email server. This initiative
the College of Arts and Sciences administers no				is now complete with separate distributions for
online degrees, it does administer several course				“all campus,” “all
clusters and individual online courses. Therefore,				adjuncts,” and “all (college specific)
Bellevue University is an example of an institution				adjuncts.”
highly oriented to the online student.				An advantage to being an online adjunct in the
Online, mostly adult learner, students equal				same community where the university is located
approximately 40 percent of the University				is proximity. With proximity, there is access to
population. Bellevue University also has both				many in leadership positions and interaction with
traditional four-year campus students and				peers. A closer connection with faculty peers
non-traditional in class adult learners making up the				allows a support system to develop face-to-face
rest of the University student population. A boast				that a distant adjunct cannot as easily develop.
made during the 2004/2005 academic year was				Proximity allows faster communication and
that Bellevue University has students in all 24 time				reaction to communication. Closeness permits
zones around the world and the North and South				attendance to faculty development live rather
Poles.				than streaming video or DVD.
CPS accounts for the largest number of faculty				While the advantages of proximity seem
members. Of CPS faculty, about 150 are adjunct				favorable, there are some downsides. There are
and one-third of those are faculty members at				greater expectations that a local adjunct spends
distant locations teaching online (information				time on campus when there primary job allows.
provided the Assistant College Administrator).				The faculty resource center offers an adjunct an
However, this is not unique to Bellevue University.				office environment where one can have the
A web search of colleges with online offerings				office time expected. College meeting attendance
returns dozens of institutions. Narrowing a web				by local adjuncts is not mandated; however, it is
search to fully accredited schools with online				more favorable to attend. Those operating at a
offerings returns numerous hits. Well known in the				distance desire to attend meetings and cannot
online arena are University of Phoenix, Capella,				have it.
Nova Southeastern, and Walden. Among these,				Conclusion
University of Phoenix is very aggressive in both				The interview process with adjunct instructors
student and faculty recruitment. It is not unusual				working at a distance offer supporting data to the
for students to transfer between online schools				statistics reported earlier in this paper. The
searching for lower tuition rates and/or more				adjuncts interviewed are part time virtual
liberal credit transfer policies. In addition, it is likely				employees who feel less a part of the University
an adjunct professor may instruct in multiple				team than someone local. They reported
universities.				incomplete communication with and knowledge of
Online Faculty Interviews				many key leadership people.
Of the about 50 online distant faculty members at				Communication seems the center of disconnect.
Bellevue University, five responded to invitations				The Academic Quality Improvement Process also
for phone or email interviews. Another interview				recognized this problem and implemented
with an online adjunct that lives in the Omaha				institutional change to tie all members to campus
metro area serves to validate other faculty				life. Although more effort is underway for broader
comments. One distant faculty member does				communication, distant employees do not have
teach at two other institutions, one online, and				access to local systems through remote means.
one face to face. Finally, I will submit personal				Considering these elements and considering the U.
observations, my experiences, as an online				S. Department of Education’s statistics,
adjunct, face-to-face instructor and one that				online education is likely to flourish. Bellevue
taught in multiple institutions.				University attracts students from around the
All those interviewed were unanimous in				world with many of them earning degrees online
answering why they are adjunct college				from their home countries.
professors, they like teaching. The responses				Despite the drawbacks, virtual professors as
varied from “I like sharing what I’ve				virtual team members are successful at Bellevue
learned,” to “It is fun to see, through				University because of the expressed desire to
their postings, how they (students) grow and				teach and watch their students grow and learn.
change over the year period of a degree				The professionalism and expertise these
program.” To follow up, they answered				professors exhibit in the online community of
teaching online is new to them, an interesting way				students supports the data from industry
to link students, and a way to connect people				executives indicating improved productivity and
geographically separate for a common goal				cost savings.
(education).				Pfeffer (1998) identifies the use of
One interviewee, a medical doctor in Indiana				sub-contractors in the work force. Adjuncts are
teaches healthcare administration at Bellevue				sub-contractors. The adjuncts serve in
University to “stay connected with nurses				non-traditional ways contrary to how professors
and other medical administrators. A hard lesson				previously served. It is apparent that education is
for doctors to learn is they don’t run				no different from other industries using virtual
anything.” In addition to teaching at Bellevue				workers. Virtual workers, like temporary workers,
University, he developed a course adopted into				feel less connected – not given the same
the Master of Healthcare Administration in CPS.				level of training.
He shared that he also is a mentor for third and				In interview, establishing trust was critical to two
fourth year medical residents working to pass				adjuncts. In-person trust is much easier to
their medical boards. He does not teach in this				develop than in virtual relationships. Bell (2002)
role, rather facilitates medical residents’				says trust is a leap of faith and places trust below
leaning and board preparation. He related that this				truth, “… caringly frank and
role requires developing a trust and trusting				compassionately straightforward… in pursuit
relationship between him and his mentored doctor.				of clean communication” (pg. 9).
He said he always begins the mentoring				An indirect conclusion from the interviews
relationship in a face-to-face environment before				highlights that mentoring a virtual adjunct may
moving it to telephone or email. He told that				help develop a sense of team participation
teaching online and handling student problems and				through greater knowledge and understanding of
misunderstandings is much less trying than				the institutions vision and values. By developing
mentoring new doctors.				greater emersion into the vision and values of the
The local interview, conducted in person, was with				system, adjuncts may want to be more aware
the executive assistant to the university				of those people filling leadership roles. Successful
president. He used to teach in the classroom;				virtual workers need the same assistance and
however, schedule demands took him out of				opportunity for growth as the worker inside the
class. Teaching online lets him keep his connection				brick and mortar institution.
to students while maintaining a busy travel				References
schedule.				Bell, C.R. (2002). Managers as Mentors: Building
When asked why they applied to teach at				Partnership for Learning (2nd edition). San
Bellevue University, the answers ranged widely.				Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
One instructor, an Army retired Chief Warrant				Carpenter, J. L. (Fall Semester 1998). Building
Officer, began teaching a year after graduating				Community in the Virtual Workplace. Online at
with a master degree from Bellevue. The				David Kohrell (personal communication, September
university approached him rather than him initiating				18, 2005) noting virtual team performance.
an application. Another, now teaching at the				Jones, S. G. (1998). Cybersociety 2.0: Revisiting
Atlanta campus of the University of Georgia, and				Computer-Mediated Communication and
previously at the U.S. Air Force Academy, applied				Community. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishers.
to Bellevue because of the University’s				Kohrell, D. (2005). Effective Virtual Teams
close ties to military students. One respondent is				[PowerPoint presentation]. PMI North Carolina:
an empty nester, disabled from her nursing				Technology As Promised.
profession, and wanted to stay active				Marilyn Urquhart (personal communication, October
pre-retirement. There was not a consistent				3, 2005) noting total number of adjuncts and
answer to this question except when tying it to				number of adjuncts teaching online from
their enjoyment of teaching.				distributed locations.
All those interviewed are online instructors,				Pfeffer, J. (1998). The Human Equation: Building
therefore, virtual to their students. All reported				profits by putting people first. Boston, MA:
using email and telephone as primary				Harvard Business School Press.
communication devices with their students.				Tuker, E., Kao, T., and Verma, N. (2005).
Additionally, they all use the Bellevue University				Next-Generation Talent Management: Insights on
Cyberactive® learning environment powered				How Workforce Trends are Changing the Face of
by Blackboard to conduct classes. They reported				Talent Management. Business Credit 107, 7. 20-27.
highs of 40 percent and lows of ten percent use				U. S. Department of Education (2001). Washington,
of email for student communication. All reported				DC. Online at [
using the telephone to contact students; however,				Verma, N. (2005). Making the Most of Virtual
telephone use was a low five to ten percent. Low				Work. WorldatWork Journal, 14, 2. 15-23.

Integrail

Virtual Teams in Education