Blog Post

An interview with Leah Peterson, EdD, program coordinator and endowed professor of higher education at Nicholls State University.

Nicholls State University (Nicholls) recently transitioned its Master’s in Higher Education program to online instruction. A combination of enrollment trends and student feedback drove the change. Hybrid requirements were creating barriers for many students, particularly those who were fully employed, place-bound, or balancing multiple responsibilities.

The transition online also presented an opportunity to better align the program with the university’s mission to expand student access and support working professionals.

This was not just a shift in modality but a more intentional effort to redesign the program to improve accessibility, consistency, and long-term sustainability while maintaining the quality and rigor of the student experience.

As higher education institutions increase their online degree offerings, more faculty need to be prepared to deliver online courses.

The spring 2026 edition of Trends in Higher Education references a recent survey of chief online learning officers. It indicates that only 28 percent of respondents reported that faculty members are fully prepared for online course design, and only somewhat more for online teaching (45 percent).

These findings don’t surprise Leah Peterson, program coordinator and endowed professor of higher education at Nicholls. Given Peterson’s leadership in transitioning the university’s Master’s in Higher Education program online, we turned to her to gain additional insight into how institutions can help ensure that faculty are better equipped to teach in that format.

As a first-generation college graduate, Peterson has seen the impact of a well-designed online course from both the student and instructor perspectives. This experience has consistently motivated her to provide high-quality, engaging, and accessible learning environments for her students. She graciously accepted our invitation to address some questions about how best to prepare and support faculty in providing online courses.

What factors or challenges contribute to faculty not being fully prepared to develop and/or teach online courses?

The pace at which many programs have transitioned to fully online modalities has not matched the professional development, support, and training offered by institutions. The pandemic had lasting effects, and many faculty were pushed into online teaching during that time with a focus on emergency remote instruction rather than intentional and planned online design.

Additionally, compliance challenges may be encountered related to tenure, academic freedom, and so on. It’s also important to note that most faculty don’t have expertise in instructional design; they are more content experts.

How can these challenges be addressed or overcome?

The solution is an obvious but difficult fix. This can be addressed with a more structured faculty development pipeline. The easy way is to offer one-off workshops. Conversely, a more intentional and impactful approach would be to build capacity over time, ensuring quality across courses, and creating sustainability, accountability, and even incentive-based rewards.

Many universities, departments, and programs should move from isolated workshops to a system of professional growth and quality assurance.

How have you personally approached educating yourself about online course design and instruction?

I’m fortunate to have experience teaching and designing online courses and instructional materials across multiple institutions. This lets me make meaningful comparisons in course design, delivery, and student engagement, further refining my approach and deepening my understanding of what constitutes effective online instruction.

In some settings, I must be highly self-motivated to ensure the quality of my course design and teaching, while in others, I have benefited from a more structured faculty development pipeline that guided best practices in online instruction.

Experiencing both approaches has strengthened my ability to be independent and reflective, while also reinforcing the value of intentional, institutionally supported professional development that ensures quality online learning experiences.

What resources are most useful in preparing faculty to provide online courses?

The good news is that there are so many supports out there. It’s important to find the best ones and to be intentional about use, depending on the programs, resources, contextual factors, etc. A common resource is a formal faculty development program that focuses on online pedagogy, course alignment, and student engagement rather than just technology use; Quality Matters, a global framework for promoting quality assurance in online and digital teaching and learning environments, is one example.

Programs grounded in frameworks such as Quality Matters or institution-specific rubrics help faculty understand how to design courses that are clear, accessible, and aligned with learning outcomes.

Less common and more expensive resources would be instructional design support, incentives, and recognition. Example details are:

• Collaboration with instructional designers allows faculty to translate content expertise into effective online learning experiences, while also guiding course organization, assessment design, and the integration of digital tools. This support is especially valuable for faculty who may be new to online teaching or unfamiliar with best practices.
• Incentives and recognition, such as stipends, course releases, or certification pathways,  are also effective because they acknowledge the time and effort required for high-quality online course development.

Overall, the most effective resources are those that are structured, practical, and sustained over time, supporting faculty not only in learning how to teach online but in continuously improving the quality of their courses.

Once a departmental or programmatic culture around effective online learning and course design is established, it often builds momentum, with faculty, staff, and leadership sharing best practices, supporting one another, and developing a shared commitment to continuous improvement. This shift fosters greater confidence in course design and a sense of pride in creating high-quality online learning environments instead of approaching online teaching as a matter of compliance.

Which strategies work best or help pave the way for smoother transitions to online teaching?

One of my favorite strategies is using course templates or exemplars combined with intentionally scaffolded transitions. Providing faculty with a clear model helps reduce uncertainty and establishes expectations for course quality, while scaffolding the transition. Starting with a single module before redesigning an entire course makes the process more manageable.

In addition, applying backward design is critical, as it ensures that learning objectives, assessments, and instructional activities are intentionally aligned. Together, these approaches support both confidence and competence, allowing faculty to build effective online courses in a structured and meaningful way.

What are some pitfalls to avoid in preparing faculty to teach online courses?

Focusing too heavily on technology rather than pedagogy. While familiarity with tools is important, effective online teaching is grounded in instructional design, alignment, and student engagement. Overemphasizing platforms without addressing how students learn online can lead to poorly designed courses.

A lack of ongoing support and follow-up is also problematic. Faculty need access to instructional designers, peer support, and just-in-time resources beyond initial training. Without this, even well-intentioned faculty may struggle to implement best practices effectively.

One of the most critical pitfalls is ignoring student needs specific to the program, region, and/or context. Online learners are diverse, and factors such as first-generation status, work commitments, access to technology, and local workforce demands should inform course design and delivery. Failing to account for these contextual factors can reduce relevance, accessibility, and overall student success. This is where Universal Design for Learning/UDL principles and adult learning theory really come into play.

What’s your best or most important advice for higher education leaders to prepare faculty to offer online courses?

Treat online teaching as a long-term investment in faculty capacity rather than a short-term compliance task.

Preparing faculty to teach online effectively requires more than a single training or workshop; it requires a structured, sustained approach that builds knowledge, skills, and confidence over time.

Additionally, it’s critical to keep the focus on the student experience. Decisions about training, course design, and delivery should be grounded in who the students are, what they need to be successful, and how the institution can best support them. When faculty preparation is aligned with institutional goals and student needs, the result is not only stronger online courses but more sustainable and impactful programs overall.