Distance Learning Leadership Not To Be Overshadowed by Technological Success,

Says Dr. Darcy Walsh Hardy

Angela Januzzi
August 10, 2007

At the recent 23^rd annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, held in Madison Wisconsin, Thursday’s keynote speaker was Dr. Darcy Walsh Hardy. As Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Executive Director of the University of Texas System TeleCampus, Dr. Hardy hit on a highly relevant—but often overlooked—issue in the administration of distance learning: “Leadership Counts…And Adds More than Numbers.”

In the quickly-expanding industry of distance education, the quality of the technology offered to students by an online school often can overshadow the quality of that school’s provided administrative leadership and the nurturing of its faculty.

Hardy pointed out that the specific challenges of creating solid leadership for online education abound: “Working with administrators and stat leaders, dealing with lean budgets, meeting the growing needs of students and faculty, and not letting technology get ahead of you are just some of the issues distance educators face on a regular basis.”

However, Hardy suggests that if leaders in distance education are to grow their schools, they must begin focus on maintaining a balance between pushing forward technologically and “creating a nurturing and protective environment for the staff.”

According to Hardy, conventional factors of success still must be considered—enrollments, graduation rates, variety of courses—but distance educators must also concern themselves with the satisfaction of their teaching staff and the strength of their administrative leadership. Overall, Hardy emphasized that simply because a school’s courses are online, the communication between its management, staff, and general leadership should not be so distant.

Enrollment management, therefore, is just as important to online schools as campus ones. Simply because students may not be visible to teachers, and teachers not physically visible to administration, does not mean the same amount of leadership and administrative strategy is not necessary. Conversely, distance educators and administrators need to understand the needs of their online schools, and form strategic plans of action to accommodate faculty and students as best as possible, just as much as traditional campus schools must do.

Source: Hardy, Dr. Darcy Walsh. “Leadership counts…and adds more than numbers.” Conference of Distance Teaching and Learning. Madison, Wisconsin. August 9, 2007.