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THE VIRTUAL OFFICE: CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITY FOR FACULTY
Browning, Michelle C.
National University
mbrownin@nu.edu
ABSTRACT
This paper explores the challenges and opportunities of virtual office space for faculty in a higher
education setting. The virtual office, also known as a distributed work environment, has the
potential to fulfill all of the roles of the traditional, onsite/centralized office. With the virtual
office, employees work off site and in a home office and collaborate, for the most part,
electronically with occasional to no physical contact with other groups or individuals.
Opportunities for faculty functioning within the virtual office environment include employee self
management, increased productivity and collegiality, faculty recruitment, achievement of student
learning needs, and integration of diversity. Despite the many opportunities and advantages of
the virtual office, there are key challenges in a virtual office environment for faculty. Among the
challenges are technological inconsistencies, issues of trust and opportunities for abuse, student
advisement difficulties, and struggles with the quest to balance work and family life. The fact
remains that an increasing number of institutions are integrating virtual office hours into faculty
workload agreements. In this paper, through a review of the literature, a wide range of virtual
office issues are explored. Recommendations for next steps including the development of trust
and accreditation guidelines are presented with a focus on enhancing faculty and institutional
effectiveness within the virtual office setting.
INTRODUCTION
Faculty who are able to answer “yes” to the following questions may be ripe candidates for the
virtual office. Is more than 50% of the required workload accomplished via computer? Is more
than 25% of faculty time spent on the phone in conversation with students, fellow colleagues, and
constituents? Is more than 50% of the teaching load in an online course format? The reality is
that the role of faculty in higher education is shifting to meet the needs of an increasing number
of online students, and adult learners.
Twigg and Oblinger (1996) explain that an immense opportunity exists for institutions to
establish new forms of electronic based collaboration from the student level to the institutional
level. The most likely future is one that accommodates more options for learners and faculty.
Working adults are opting entirely for online educational experiences that provide them with the
education and flexibility they need. Additionally, students in both on site and on ground classes
have increased expectations related to frequency and timeliness of contact with faculty. There is
an abundance of literature and research on the pros and cons of online teaching and distant
learning. There is, however, relatively little research on the more specific element of the virtual
office space for faculty in higher education. The following review of the literature seeks to
highlight those aspects of the faculty virtual office that present opportunities and challenges.
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