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Distance Education Teachers Work More, Report Says
Overall, faculty and instructional staff who taught distance education courses in 1998–99 had a higher workload than those who did not, according to a report issued by the National Center for Education Statistics, part of the U.S. Department of Education. The report, which does not distinguish between faculty and instructional staff without faculty status, found that those teaching distance education classes taught an average of at least one class or section more in fall 1998 than their counterparts who did not teach such courses. In addition, distance education teachers had more course preparations, an average of about 3.1 preparations compared with 2.5 for other faculty.
The report, which was based on data from the 1999 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty, also analyzed demographic characteristics of distance education teachers, who make up about 6 percent of instructional staff and faculty. It concluded that in many regards, including gender, age, race, and ethnicity, they do not differ significantly from other faculty.
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