Papers by Scott L. Howell
Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Jun 15, 2008
Journal of school counseling, 2007
This study investigated the professional development needs, preferences, and practices of seconda... more This study investigated the professional development needs, preferences, and practices of secondary school counselors in Utah. Participants included 226 secondary school counselors who responded to a 20-question survey instrument. The respondents revealed that most of them exceed minimum licensure requirements for professional development but also spend significant amounts of personal time and expense to do so. The counselors also identified obstacles with, and preferences toward, professional development that they experience in the increasingly complex and sophisticated school environment. Findings will inform professional development policy and practice in the state and also provide a basis for future research.
Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Dec 15, 2006
Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Mar 15, 2004
Today's distance education administrator, frequently with an expertise in another academic discip... more Today's distance education administrator, frequently with an expertise in another academic discipline, is also supposed to be a distance education scholar. This expectation results from the recent interest in distance learning that nearly all institutions of learning and disciplines of study have shown. More research, studies, journals, and essays about distance education also exist than at any other time. A distance education administrator and an education research librarian at Brigham Young University have teamed up to identify ten pragmatic research strategies to help new, busy, and even a few experienced distance education administrators stay current in their field and successful in their applied research. All distance education research strategies identified were required to pass a distance administrator test for pragmatism, user-friendliness, and efficiency. The ten research strategies that will be covered are accessing library expertise, books from your or others' library catalogs, academic journals, databases, current awareness services, subscription services, distance education Web portals, associations, listserv/discussions, and use of research assistants.
Journal of Adult Education, Oct 1, 2007
The purpose of this research study was to develop a reliable and valid survey instrument for asse... more The purpose of this research study was to develop a reliable and valid survey instrument for assessing the satisfaction of part-time faculty teaching in continuing higher education at Brigham Young University (BYU). This article describes the reliability and validity of the instrument that may be used by other administrators and researchers interested in evaluating part-time faculty job satisfaction at their respective institutions. The researchers hypothesized that dimensions of overall job satisfaction (adapted from the Herzberg model) would be measured by subscales on the survey instrument. The factor analysis provided empirical support for eight dimensions. The failure of two subscales in the factor analysis (status and job security) and one subscale on the test of internal reliability (challenge) will necessitate a revision of applicable survey questions. However, peer-reviewed studies on part-time faculty job satisfaction are limited to just a few Feldman & Turnley, 2001;. This is the case despite the fact that "part-time faculty are a permanent and important part of teaching and learning at community, junior, and vocational colleges; four-year colleges; and universities" (Baron-Nixon, 2007, p. 1). Prior studies on part-time faculty job satisfaction have relied on data from the National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF) or other in-house survey instruments. Despite poor reliability, institutional instruments were comprised primarily of single survey questions to measure job satisfaction constructs with the exception of one summated rating scale of overall job satisfaction used in a study by Feldman and Turnley (2001). were able to develop three summated rating scales using the NSOPF data: satisfaction with students, satisfaction with personal autonomy, and satisfaction with demands and rewards. Other standardized surveys such as the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) Faculty Survey were not designed with summated rating scales to measure part-time faculty job satisfaction. Several subscales on the National Survey of Faculty sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation could be utilized in future studies. However, it is lengthy, and many questions are not applicable to part-time faculty. Hill (1986) states that "there are many well-known measures of job satisfaction in use in business and industry . . . ; [nevertheless], they do not seem to be wholly applicable to the work situation of faculty in higher education" (p. 39). Likewise, while instruments to evaluate full-time faculty job satisfaction are available, they lack relevance for part-time faculty on several fronts. For example, questions for full-time faculty about tenure, rank, grants, service responsibilities, and research facilities or expectations do not apply to part-time faculty. Questions regarding various aspects of collegiality and shared governance are worded in ways that do not fit part-time faculty. Since they are often residents in the community and have not relocated to obtain the job, questions about the desirability of the surrounding community are rarely relevant to part-time faculty job satisfaction. As well, questions about balancing family and work life are not as applicable because, by definition, part-time faculty should be employed only part-time. The purpose of this research study was to develop a reliable and valid survey instrument for assessing the satisfaction of part-time faculty teaching in continuing higher education at Brigham Young University This instrument should be cited as follows:
Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Jun 15, 2015
The need for a reliable strategic planning framework for distance educators and their institution... more The need for a reliable strategic planning framework for distance educators and their institutions has never been greater than it is now. Increased government regulations, accreditation standards, and competition are converging with decreased funding from federal, state, and private sources, and administrators require better strategic planning. A strategic planning model known as the Balanced Scorecard has met with widespread adoption and sweeping success among the business community, but, surprisingly, has not been widely adopted among institutions of higher and distance education. In this article the authors share what they have learned about this strategic planning model through a review of the available literature and their own early efforts to introduce it to their institution, the Division of Continuing Education at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
IGI Global eBooks, May 24, 2011
Career Services assists students with career planning by offering programming, events, individual... more Career Services assists students with career planning by offering programming, events, individual career advising and opportunities to network with employers for experiential learning and employment. The Career Services staff is knowledgeable regarding current employment trends, in-demand jobs in Ohio, and internship and job search strategies. Career Advisers actively assist students at every stage of their career development. This includes exploring career paths, resume and cover letter writing skills, interview preparation, graduate school preparation, finding experiential learning opportunities such as internships or co-ops, and creating a job search strategy. Handshake, UA's online job board, is where students and alumni can apply for positions, connect with employers, register for events, download resources guides, schedule an appointment and more. Log in at with your UAnet ID and password.
Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Sep 15, 2003
Recent issues in this journal and other prominent distance-learning journals have established the... more Recent issues in this journal and other prominent distance-learning journals have established the need for administrators to be informed and prepared with strategic plans equal to foreseeable challenges. This article provides decision makers with 32 trends that affect distance learning and thus enable them to plan accordingly. The trends are organized into categories as they pertain to students and enrollment, faculty members, academics, technology, the economy, and distance learning. All the trends were identified during an extensive review of current literature in the field Recent issues in this journal and other prominent distance-learning journals have established the need for administrators to be informed and prepared with strategic plans equal to foreseeable challenges. This article provides decision makers with 32 trends that affect distance learning and thus enable them to plan accordingly. The trends are organized into categories as they pertain to students and enrollment, faculty members, academics, technology, the economy, and distance learning. All the trends were identified during an extensive review of current literature in the field. In a recent issue of Distance Learning Administration, Beaudoin (2003) stressed the importance for institutional leaders "to be informed and enlightened enough to ask fundamental questions that could well influence their institution's future viability" (p. 1). Example questions included "How many faculty will we be needed in ten years? Will the notion of classrooms survive? Is the present structure of the institution viable? Will teachers and students need to meet on campus anymore? [and] Can the organization's decision makers respond to new competitors?" Given these and other pressing questions, decision makers must clearly understand all influencing factors. Institutions need not only pose difficult questions, they must answer them from an informed perspective. Decision makers often rely on long-term demographic and economic projections, based on current trends and foreseeable influences, in their strategic planning . While demographic and economic predictions are essential in planning distance learning, they alone are not sufficient. Other major influences complicate the issue, such as the rapid advancement of
Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Dec 15, 2017
The purpose of this paper is to identify and explain the best practice of using "big data" report... more The purpose of this paper is to identify and explain the best practice of using "big data" reports to help distance learning administrators better understand their own programs and represent them to stakeholders. The authors examine five reports: (1) the number and percentage of graduates from the main campus who also take classes at the branch campus; (2) an understanding of how enrollment patterns can aid in decisions to cancel or retain classes; (3) an analysis of the number of non-matriculated students who eventually matriculate; (4) a comparison of the number of students who retake classes at the branch and main campuses; and (5) the correlation between courses offered and courses required for the main campus majors and minors. The reports are designed to answer specific questions and to dispel inaccurate assumptions by creating data to use in evaluating programs and their effectiveness.
What is Chautauqua? What contributions were made to adult education theory and practice by three ... more What is Chautauqua? What contributions were made to adult education theory and practice by three early Chautauquan leaders: John Vincent, Lewis Miller, and William Rainey Harper? How did they handle certain administrative tasks? This article briefly introduces the reader to the Chautauqua Institution that then became the Chautauqua Movement. It will also explore the movement's role and founders' contributions in defining what adult education is today. The early leaders of this popular education movement also called upon not only their instructional genius but also their administrative, managerial, and business acumen to ensure the success of the Chautauqua Institution in providing educational opportunity to an increasing number of adults. Three specific administrative duties of these early adult educators are examined and then likened to today's educators': overseeing finances, handling rewards and responding to competition. The authors' intent is to (re)introduce today's educators to some of the Chautauqua contributions made to adult education theory and practice while also likening their relevant administrative practices to today's adult education programs. To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward-Margaret Fairless Barber Whenever adult educators "look backward" in their history they will see Chautauquathe most popular educational movement of its time. Chautauqua, as an adult education movement, had its start in 1874 at a lake of the same name in southwestern New York. Here, a businessman and inventor named Lewis Miller joined a distinguished Methodist minister and educator named John Heyl Vincent; together, the two men founded a program that provided learning opportunities for those who because of age or life situation could not attend formal schooling. These individuals could attend lectures and lessons at the auditoriums and classrooms set up on the shore of Chautauqua lake, or participate in correspondence lessons. The development of the program led to the official Chautauqua Institute, the "sire of today's vast, multibillion dollar network of cooperative agricultural extension services, off-campus courses, university outreach programs, and distance learning technologies in America" (Scott, 1999, p. 403). By exploring the history of the Chautauqua movement, including its underlying theory and the experiences of its founders, adult educators can refresh and restore their eyes and render them more fit to look forward; by examining these lessons of the past, adult educators can also be more fit to make wise business and administrative decisions for the future. This salutary
Journal of school counseling, 2005
This study focuses on the secondary counselor perspective for students using alternative credit p... more This study focuses on the secondary counselor perspective for students using alternative credit programs, e.g., independent study, evening classes, and summer school, to complement the high school educational experience. Three hundred high school counselors throughout the United States participated in this research that examined which types of students most benefited from these "other" curriculum sources and some of the reasons why. This study also profiled the characteristics of successful alternative education programs. These findings promise to better inform counselors, school administrators, curricular specialists, providers, and students' themselves about the role alternative education is increasingly having within the secondary schools.
Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, Second Edition
Internationally, religious institutions are developing online learning for a variety of reasons a... more Internationally, religious institutions are developing online learning for a variety of reasons and purposes. The overall interaction of religion and the Internet has been varied (Dawson & Cowan, 2004). However, as Christopher Helland (2007) observes, “[By 2006] this medium has been embraced by most of the world religious traditions, to the point that not having Internet representation is a rarity for a religious organization, even if it is luddite in its beliefs and practices” (Introduction ¶4). The religious applications of formal online education comprise three main areas: extending the reach of theological education (primarily for the training of clergy), expanding opportunities for higher education from religious-sponsored universities and colleges, and facilitating other lifelong learning opportunities for members of the laity. It remains the case that “little has been written and published on distance education in North American theological education” (Amos, 1999, p. 126). De...
Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 2018
The National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) has available for research a large data warehouse of enr... more The National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) has available for research a large data warehouse of enrollment and graduation information from 1993 to the present for nearly all postsecondary students in the United States. In this most recent academic year, 18 million currently enrolled students alone were added to the database. Some of the following research questions were answered by administrators at the Brigham Young University (BYU) Salt Lake Center using this data warehouse: How many of the students actually graduated? How many institutions did they attend before they graduated? How long did it take for them to graduate? This information in the hands of a distance and continuing educator can help inform strategic planning, marketing, and retention efforts for their institutions.
Interaction is a core element in the design of blended and distance learning environments. The im... more Interaction is a core element in the design of blended and distance learning environments. The importance of understanding these interactions and what might increase effectiveness of such interactions in education is paramount for meaningful learning. This dissertation consists of two qualitative case studies designed to provide a rich, descriptive look at interactions in a high school distance/blended-learning context in the home-study and technology-meditated seminary program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the study article, Moore's (1989) interaction framework was used as a lens for understanding the learner experience. Thematic narratives were used to highlight themes related to students' perceived learning gains from learner-content interaction and their hesitancy to engage in learner-learner and learner-instructor interactions if they had not met personally. In the second study, Garrison's (2007) Community of Inquiry framework was used to un...
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Papers by Scott L. Howell