Managing Staffing and Training

 Overview 

These materials support a discussion on the topic of the staffing needs of open and distance learning institutions, and the kinds of training these staff require once they are in place. These needs are placed in the context of open and distance learning programmes overall, and in the context of the changes to which they are subject.

First, staffing needs are presented. The competencies required for each function are listed, as are the likely roles in which these competencies can be found in open and distance learning programmes, both as programmes are emerging and as they mature. Second, training needs are outlined in a set of questions about staff training.

Source materials for this topic

O’Rourke, J. Roles and competencies in distance education. Vancouver: The Commonwealth of Learning, 1993.

Robinson, B. Training and staff development for distance education: a strategic perspective. In Training and professional development in distance education. Vancouver: The Commonwealth of Learning, 1997.

 The changing context

A critical task for planners, policy makers, and others responsible for setting up and managing an open and distance learning programme is the management of staffing and training needs.

This section will provide some guidelines for answering these two questions:

·      What are staffing needs in open and distance learning programmes?

·      What are the training needs for these staff?

First, however, it is useful to remind ourselves of the changing contexts in which we may be tackling these questions. Here are some of the factors that may change the staffing and training needs for successful operation of open and distance learning programmes.

Social context and clientele

Guidelines developed for a tertiary-level, single mode institution in an industrialised country may be of limited utility for managers of, say, training programmes for untrained primary teachers in a country with a primarily agriculturally based economy and a rural population.

Generation

Some institutions and organisations have been providing distance learning materials and services for decades. Others are just beginning, and may still be in the planning stage. Staffing and training needs for a ‘second-generation’ organisation are going to differ considerably from those of an emerging institution or an incipient open and distance learning programme.

Financial considerations

In almost all contexts the pressure is on open and distance learning programmes to demonstrate that they are spending wisely and effectively the funds invested in them, that they are avoiding duplication, and that they have a coherent rationale for their staffing levels and training programmes. There are likely real limits to the number of staff who can be brought on board, or kept on board.

Institutional pressures

In many institutions open and distance learning programmes are required to be self-financing, or even to make a profit for the institutions. There are also open and distance learning organisations, of course, that operate entirely on the basis of the fees they raise from learners and project- and grant-funding from donor, sponsor, partner, or client organisations. In some institutions there may be pressures to integrate open and distance learning completely within the institution, which have serious implications for staffing – (for example, see the case studies for Deakin and Murdoch Universities). Increasing decentralisation to regional centres of responsibility for developing materials and supporting learners also impinges on staffing decisions.

Societal changes

As lifelong learning becomes more accepted, the variety and scope of contexts for open and distance learning approaches expand. Distance educators may find themselves working anywhere from the shop floor to rural extension programmes to community learning centres to university classrooms.

National programmes

As open and distance learning develops in support of a national system of education, especially at the tertiary level and in technical or vocational areas, there may be more need for roles in co-ordination and direction from a national or regional perspective, again with implications for staffing and training. The Indira Gandhi National Open University plays this role within India.

Changing technologies

Technologies are converging. For example, courseware can be made available to learners via the World Wide Web that incorporates text, graphics, video, and audio, with e-mail and other links to tutors and other learners. There is also a convergence of distance and face-to-face provision, in the form of flexible learning programmes in which learners can choose the learning mode or modes they prefer for tackling some particular learning problem. These instances of convergence mean that staff with responsibility for developing materials and supporting learners must become familiar and comfortable with a wide range of technologies. Even though these latest technologies are still too costly for many open and distance learning providers, especially those in less affluent countries or regions, staff need to be made aware of the possibilities and potential available in these technologies, should the day come when they and their learners are able to use them.

See the case studies for Deakin University, Murdoch University, and the Open Access College for discussions of these issues; also the case study for the Open Learning and Information Network discusses issues arising from offering courses via the World Wide Web.

Staffing needs in open and distance learning

What kinds of staff are needed to set up and run an open and distance learning programme?

One useful way to answer this question is in terms of the competencies that are essential for open and distance learning. These competencies can be held by people in a number of different roles in different situations; therefore roles are also addressed.

The lists below identify:

·    the kinds of competencies needed for the start-up, implementation, and ongoing operation of open and distance learning programmes; and

·     he roles in which those competencies are most effectively held.

Roles differ within organisations, depending on context, objectives, size, and stage of development.

The competencies are not presented in rank order of importance. All are considered essential. However, not all the attributes of, say, leadership are necessarily collected within one individual. Ideally a team of people share leadership competencies and complement each others’ attributes.

Discussion: For each of the six areas or functions listed, you might wish to draw from your participants the roles in their particular programmes in which the competencies outlined are likely to be found.

Leadership

Competencies of leaders in open and distance learning

In successful open and distance learning programmes there tend to be key persons with the vision, influence, and leadership skills to get the project off the ground and nurture it through the early years. The attributes of leaders in open and distance learning tend to be:

·    vision of the rationale, scope, and potential impact of an open and distance learning programme in their own context;

·    clear view of prospective participants and their needs;

·    access to financial and human resources, access to decision makers who have access to those resources, or both;

·    senior decision making authority and respect within the organisations;

·    credibility among teaching staff;

·    an understanding of how open and distance learning works and an overview of the planning, resource allocation, and promotional tasks required to launch it;

·    an understanding of how their own organisation works and of how open and distance learning will affect existing systems;

·    an understanding of the relationship between the proposed open and distance learning project and other educational providers within the region;

·    ability to communicate and co-ordinate open and distance learning endeavours with other educational providers in the region, to ensure accreditation is recognised, duplication of provision is minimised, and so on;

·    ability to convey to others in the organisation the value of open and distance learning and earn their support for the project; and

·    ability to identify training needs and provide learning opportunities about open and distance learning processes to teaching staff and administrators responsible for implementing the project.

Roles of leaders in open and distance learning

The leadership competencies could be in one or several key individuals within an organisation. Positions within an organisation that lend themselves to effective use of these competencies to launch an open and distance learning project are:

·    senior administrator, such as principal or vice-principal, pro-vice chancellor, or dean of continuing education;

·    senior member of teaching staff, such as a professor, senior lecturer, or department chair;

·    senior ministry of education staff member who can be seconded to full-time work on the project; and

·    senior staff member in a private or non-profit organisation, for example, director of human resources, training, and so on.

After the programme is launched, and roles and positions are finalised, individuals in a leadership role may continue their work from the position that they hold, or take on a formal role as:

·      principal of open and distance learning institution or programme;

·      academic director of open and distance learning programme;

·      director of continuing education; and

·      senior administrator of open and distance learning.

Administration

Competencies of Administrative Personnel

Ideally administrative personnel share the same vision of open and distance learning as the individual or individuals in the project’s leadership roles. They should provide administrative competencies that include:

·    vision of the rationale, scope, and potential impact of an open and distance learning programme in their own context;

·    a clear view of the participants and their needs;

·    logistical skills, or the ability to foresee and plan for logistical requirements; scheduling and materials production knowledge; creative problem solving abilities; knowledge of the organisation’s infrastructure and of the communications and transportation infrastructure of the region where participants live;

·    financial management skills, or the ability to predict costs of each phase and component and to make reasonable decisions about allocation of funds for administrative systems, for course development, for learner support systems;

·    an understanding of how open and distance learning works and an overview of the planning, resource allocation, and promotional tasks required to launch it;

·    an understanding of how their own organisation works and of how open and distance learning will affect existing systems;

·    ability to determine the systems needed to support open and distance learning within a given context, to set up new systems, and to evaluate their effectiveness and modify them if necessary;

·    respect and credibility within the organisation; and

·    ability to identify training needs and to provide learning opportunities for others within the organisation.

Roles of Administrative Personnel

The types of roles held by individuals who have these competencies can vary depending on the phase of the project. At the initial phase, before the programme is launched, these individuals may be in these positions:

·    administrator within an academic unit, such as an administrative vice-president, administration, programme director, or dean;

·    manager of an administrative unit, such as learner services registrar; or

·    administrator of continuing education.

As an open and distance learning programme is launched, these individuals may occupy the following roles or positions:

·      administrator of an open and distance learning unit;

·      administrator of continuing education; or

·      director of outreach services.

Teaching and course development

In open and distance learning, teaching responsibilities are usually divided into two phases:

·      course development: the preparation of course materials; and

·      tutoring: providing instructional support to learners as they use the materials.

Course development tends to be subdivided further into

·    providing subject matter expertise; and

·    providing expertise in instructional techniques appropriate to open and distance learning.

Similar competencies are required for both aspects of course development, with some specific competencies required for subject matter specialists and instructional design specialists.

Individuals initially involved in course development would share the vision of open and distance learning the programme leaders propose. The following competencies are important.

Competencies of Programme Leaders

Individuals who act as programme leaders need the following competencies:

·    ease with learners; awareness of particular needs and circumstances of learners; skills in dealing with more open ended learning situations;

·    ability to plan, schedule, and implement labour intensive tasks, as can be demonstrated by curriculum planning committee work and responsibility for development of special projects; active participation in an examinations board, where applicable;

·    knowledge about how open and distance learning works, and about the kinds of resources and timeframes needed for course development; and

·    ability to work as a member of a team.

Course developer and subject matter specialist

The subject matter specialist needs the following competencies:

·      openness to new ideas and new perspectives on their discipline;

·      expertise in a subject area or discipline, and in teaching that subject area or discipline;

·      willingness to learn new approaches to teaching and learning.

 

Course developer and instructional designer

This individual may be a media specialist or teaching staff member who has a particular expertise in how to prepare materials for effective learning. Competencies and skills required are the same as those required of the teaching staff course developer and course team leader, with the following additions:

·    knowledge of the attributes of a range of media, including print, audio, and video, and of their characteristics when used for learning materials;

·    skills in the use of at least one medium, and preferably more than one;

·    skills in writing and editing, regardless of medium;

·    ability to communicate knowledge and skills to others while working with them as peers on course development tasks; and

·    knowledge of the logistical requirements of the media in most common use, including in all cases copyright, scheduling of production, and media capabilities.

Roles of Programme Leaders

Prior to start up of open and distance learning, programme leaders could be in any of following roles:

·      full-time member of teaching staff;

·      part-time or sessional teaching staff, either at main institution or at an off-site location;

·      textbook author with teaching experience;

·      administrator with teaching experience; and

·      media specialist with teaching experience in another discipline.

After the open and distance learning programme is launched, this individual could be designated as a course author, either solo or as member of course team.

Course team leader

Course team leaders need additional competencies:

·    course developer, instructional developer, or instructional designer.

·    willingness to share knowledge and competence in open and distance learning course development with peers;

·    acknowledged competence and credibility among colleagues;

·    ability to work with others and provide leadership in labour-intensive, deadline-oriented tasks; and

·    ability to communicate and negotiate plan of action and task assignment.

 

Teaching, tutoring, and learner support

Competencies of teaching staff

Those in direct contact with learners, in teaching, tutoring, and learner support roles, require the following competencies and attributes:

·    ease with learners; awareness of particular needs and circumstances of learners;

·    expertise in a subject area or discipline, and in teaching that subject area or discipline;

·    knowledge of how open and distance learning works, and about the kind of resources and timeframes needed for open and distance learning course delivery;

·    ability to work as a member of a team;

·    knowledge of administrative systems within one’s own organisations;

·    openness to new ideas; new perspectives on one’s discipline;

·    willingness to learn new approaches to teaching and learning;

·    ability to balance demands of discipline with the needs of the learner;

·    ability to communicate needs of learner to institution and institution’s perspective to learner; and

·    interpersonal skills in learner advising, counselling, problem solving.

Roles of teaching staff

As an open and distance learning programme is being launched, teaching staff may be in a role such as:

·      director of learner services;

·      learner counsellor; or

·      academic position such as lecturer or tutor.

After an open and distance learning programme is launched and roles are formalised, this role may become:

·      tutor; or

·      tutor and counsellor.

Tutorial services and learner counselling co-ordinator

This position requires additional competencies:

·      ability to oversee effectively the teaching or advising role of others; and

·      ability to provide learning opportunities for others working as tutors.

Logistics co-ordination

While the roles assigned to the important tasks relating to logistics co-ordination tend to be considered ‘support’ or ‘clerical’, an open and distance learning system cannot operate if the right materials are not sent at the right time, if assignments are not handled correctly, or if provisions are not made for secure operation of examinations.

Competencies of logistics co-ordinator

The individual who acts as logistics co-ordinator needs the following competencies:

·    ability to foresee and plan for logistical needs of open and distance learning, schedule, allocate resources, and anticipate potential difficulties;

·    ability to communicate equally with clients, learners, and with teaching and administrative staff within the institution to address problems and issues of concern and help to resolve them;

·    ability to organise and direct the work of others, to communicate the importance of accuracy and timeliness, and to develop enthusiasm among others for the work of supporting open and distance learning;

·    ability to co-ordinate with other organisations and institutions, at a distance, for set-up of study centres, examination centres;

·    knowledge of general administrative and financial systems within own institution and of requirements of most commonly used systems, such as payroll, room rental, equipment rental, purchasing; and

·    knowledge of stock control systems and of production lead times required to ensure stock levels are maintained.

Roles of logistics co-ordinator

Before the start up of an open and distance learning programme, individuals with these competencies may be in a variety of roles:

·      administrator;

·      administrative assistant in larger unit;

·      office manager;

·      senior secretary;

·      assistant registrar; and

·      unit manager.

After the start up of an open and distance learning programme, the most important logistical roles may be defined as follows:

·      learner services administrator;

·      information and promotion co-ordinator;

·      enrolment co-ordinator;

·      assignments and examinations co-ordinator; or

·      materials warehousing and dispatch co-ordinator.

Research and evaluation

Research and evaluation is an important competency at every stage of an open and distance learning programme. Ideally, persons in leadership roles are sufficiently committed to monitoring and evaluating the programme, and sufficiently familiar with basic monitoring and evaluative processes that they can build these competencies into the programme.

Competencies of research and evaluation staff

While not all staff can be expected to have all the following competencies, the following are the ones most valuable in an open and distance learning programme:

·    an understanding of the basic goals and procedures of research in education;

·    ability to identify which aspects of an open and distance learning programme require ongoing monitoring procedures and which require a specific research project;

·    ability to develop needs analysis processes to determine the types of courses and services the open and distance learning units should provide, in consultation with community members, prospective users, and relevant members of the organisation;

·    ability to design monitoring procedures that can be incorporated easily into normal administrative processes;

·    ability to identify prospective research studies, in consultation with relevant members of the organisation, and in light of current research, unique aspects of the programme, and needs of the programme;

·    ability to design methods for data gathering appropriate to the context, given resources available, information required, and expected application of information;

·    ability to review results of monitoring to identify aspects of the open and distance learning programme that require attention, either a change in procedures or a further study;

·    sufficiently knowledgeable about statistical analysis to identify needs for statistical analysis services and to contract these services; and

·    ability to synthesise information and data and prepare a report which identifies significant outcomes.

Roles of research and evaluation staff

Research and evaluation tasks can be delegated to people in positions such as the following:

·      institutional researcher (often located in director’s or vice-chancellor’s office);

·      academic staff member; and

·      contracted staff with the appropriate expertise.

 Training needs in open and distance learning

Why is training needed?

Training of both new and existing staff in open and distance learning programmes is essential to the development of the competencies listed above.

It is important that senior managers see training as an investment rather than a cost, and give it high priority in organisational plans and funding allocations.

It is also important for senior managers to ensure that when training is provided, the organisation is ready to utilise the new learning so that opportunities for capacity building are not lost.

When is training needed?

The practice of open and distance learning generates a variety of roles and needs. Staff are often required to learn new work practices and skills. Individuals and groups have to:

·    take on new roles, especially if open and distance learning is unfamiliar;

·    adapt to new ways of teaching and communicating;

·    use new technologies which alter familiar processes of teaching and communication;

·    manage dispersed and decentralised organisations or complex processes;

·    be responsible for supporting learners at a distance;

·    develop better skills in teamwork, co-ordination, and the management of schedules and records; and

·    take on unaccustomed roles as trainers.

What kinds of staff need training?

The categories of staff who need training can be grouped as follows:

·    newly-appointed staff, needing routine induction and orientation to open and distance learning in general;

·    staff taking on new responsibilities and roles;

·    staff in traditional institutions adapting existing knowledge or skills to open and open and distance learning applications;

·    all staff periodically, to ensure maintenance of skills and standards and their continuing professional development; and

·    staff who face specific changes in their work as a result of change within the organisation as a whole (for example, the introduction of a new technology; see the Deakin and Murdoch Universities case studies).

What problems do organisations face 

    when implementing staff training?

A number of concerns about staff training are commonly experienced by open and distance learning programmes. These include:

·    the difficulty of getting institution commitment and resources;

·    the inconsistency in training provision within organisations;

·    the slowness of organisations to develop policies and plans for staff training, especially for part-time and field-based staff;

·    weak integration of training with institutional policy and plans;

·    uncertainty about where to locate responsibility for staff training within the organisation;

·    the status of training and perceptions of its value amongst staff and management;

·    the limited nature of the needs analysis commonly done;

·    the weak use of evaluation; and

·    discontinuity between training given and its application to ‘real life’ on the job.

Discussion: Ask participants to analyse the role of staff training and professional development in their own organisation and answer the following questions: what categories of staff require training? at what level? how can it be accessed? how can it be financed?  Review the case studies for possible ideas for discussion.

How closely is training linked to strategic programme goals?

Here is a checklist of questions to ask about the links between the training your programme offers and your programme’s goals.

Staff Training Checklist  

q     Is there a training/staff development policy? Is it widely known?

q     How are decisions made about training provision? Who decides? Who are consulted?

q     What methods are used to identify staff development needs in your programme:

 – at the organisational level?

 – at the job level?

 – at the person/individual level?

q     How well are these levels integrated? Which dominates? Why?

q     In what direction does the balance need to change, in your view?

q     How are priorities decided? On what basis?

q     What is the effect of this on training provision?

q     In what ways is staff development provision linked to organisational objectives?

q     How well is it linked? Could the link be strengthened?

q     Who is responsible for this? Who should be responsible at the different levels, in your view?

q     Do training objectives and programmes change as soon as there is a change in the organisation’s strategic decisions?

q     When did this last happen in your organisation? What was the outcome?

Discussion: Work through these questions with your participants.

 

What are the steps in implementing a training programme?

Whatever policy and strategy for staff training are adopted, the same steps are involved in implementing the plan. These steps are:

·    define and agree within the organisation the general and particular needs for training, based on a systematic needs analysis;

·    review possible ways of meeting needs and the availability of financial resources;

·    establish priorities;

·    select appropriate training events and interventions;

·    construct a coherent training plan in the light of available resources;

·    communicate to all concerned and build a supportive climate for training;

·    prepare an evaluation approach and plan;

·    provide the training and evaluate its efficiency and effectiveness; and

·    use the evaluation data to assess its impact, to improve training provision and to inform future plans.

What modes of training are available?

Training of staff in open and distance learning programmes can happen in a variety of ways.

·    on-the-job training: more experienced or senior staff can be assigned to work with new or junior staff on a project to mentor and assist them; this is particularly the case for course authors who are trained in open and distance learning techniques in the context of the course team;

·    face-to-face training sessions: can happen one-on-one or in small groups, using in-house or imported trainers. They are usually rather formally structured and scheduled; and

·    courses offered face-to-face and at a distance: a growing number of formal courses are available for training staff in a wide variety of aspects of open and distance learning. Some of these courses require staff to travel to the site where the course is offered, but increasingly these courses are offered at a distance, some of them on-line via the Internet and the World Wide Web. For example, there are a number of programmes available at the postgraduate diploma and master’s level in open and distance learning, including those offered by Indira Gandhi National Open University, Deakin University and University of South Australia, University of London and International Extension College, Athabasca University, and the Open University in the United Kingdom. The latter two programmes provide tuition and support to learners primarily on-line.

How is training needs analysis conducted?

Training needs can be assessed on three levels, at the level of

·      the organisation;

·      the job; and

·      the individual.

An effective strategy is to start at the organisational level and work towards the individual level, although the diagnosis of training needs at an organisational level requires quite sophisticated skills of analysis, evaluation, and diagnosis as well as access to a wide range of information.

The table in the following page shows in greater details the types of analysis that can be done at each level.  

Levels of Analysis for Training Needs

Level of analysis	Focus of analysis	Sources of data
Level 1: Organisational	Whole organisation’s objectives Pool and pattern of skills and expertise available in staff Indices of effectiveness Organisational climate	Staffing plan and projections Audit of skills and knowledge of staff; identification of any shortages, present and future Efficiency indicators and organisational output Climate surveys Monitoring data from quality surveys Requests from departments and group members
Level 2: Job needs	Particular job or group of jobs Tasks, skills, and standards needed Knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to achieve standards.	Job descriptions and specifications Objectives, standards, and targets set and priorities identified Work sampling or job observation Asking the job holder and unit head about the job
Level 3: Individual needs	Person analysis in terms of skills, expertise, and competence. Standards of performance at job tasks.	Performance appraisal and identification of development needs. Observation and work sampling. Interviews and questionnaires.

What needs to be done to make training immediately useful on the job?

Transfer of skills acquired during training to the actual job to be performed is not automatic. A number of factors affect the effectiveness of this transfer, including:

·    the nature of the skills learned; for example, interpersonal skills transfer less well that psychomotor skills;

·    the time lag between learning something and using it in a ‘real-work’ context; new skills need to be used in practice before they deteriorate;

·    the number of elements common to the training and the job situation; that is, the greater the number, the stronger the transfer;

·    perceptions of relevance and quality of the training by participants; and

·   attitudes of colleagues, departments, and the organisation as a whole towards the training.

How can training be evaluated?

Here are a number of questions that can be asked of the training process in order to evaluate its effectiveness.:

Context in which the learning event takes place

·   How accurately were needs initially diagnosed?

·   What information was used? How was it analysed to establish these needs?

·   Was training an appropriate solution to the problem?

·   Why was this particular kind of event and form chosen?

·   How were learning objectives selected?

·   What learning objectives were set? At which level of outcomes?

·   How does this learning even link to others in the participant’s experience, and to other training events provided? Does it fit with an organisational plan for training?

Inputs to the training

·   What resources were available for the training event?

·   What were actually used (personnel, physical, and financial resources, time)?

·   What were the learning structure, content, media, and methods? Did they incorporate sound principles of learning?

·   What was the final cost?

·   Was the selection of participants appropriate?

·   Did they attend the training provided? What was the take-up?

·   Was this the best and most appropriate way of training?

Reactions to the training

·     What reactions to the learning event did participants and trainers have?

·     Was it perceived to have achieved its original objectives?

Outcomes from the training, as input to planning for subsequent training

·     Was it efficient?

·     Was it effective?

·     Was it cost-effective?

 Practice exercise

Linking staff training and programme goals

Instructions: Using the checklist of questions to be asked about linkage between training and programme goals that is provided in the materials, ask each participant to spend about half an hour working through the questions. Once they have provided their own answers, divide them into working groups of no more that five persons, and ask the group to provide answers to the following questions and be prepared to share them with the group as a whole:

·      What gaps or weak links were identified?

·      How could these links be strengthened?

·      What obstacles are envisaged to this strengthening?

Timeframe: 15 minutes for individual work, 30 minutes for small group work, 15 minutes for large group discussion; total one hour.

Materials: None. Formal reporting back from small groups is not required; facilitator can guide discussion by asking groups to supply