ECAR Publishes Study on Faculty Use of Course Management Systems

May 21, 2003—The EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) has just published a major research study on faculty and instructional staff use of course management systems.

Faculty Use of Course Management Systems by Glenda Morgan, learning technology analyst in the Office of Learning and Information Technology of the University of Wisconsin System, provides an insightful look at how faculty members use course management systems in their teaching. This study is based on quantitative survey responses from 730 faculty and instructional staff, 140 qualitative interviews of faculty, and manual counts and examinations of usage logs of the course management systems used in the University of Wisconsin System. The study focuses specifically on faculty use of course management systems: the extent to which they use them, which features they use, in which learning environments they use them, and what motivates them to increase or decrease their use.

The study complements nearly 10 research bulletins already published this year. In 2003, ECAR plans to publish six studies, 25 research bulletins, and more than 10 case studies.

Download the summary of key findings [PDF* 180 KB] for the course management system study.

Read the original announcement of the formation of ECAR.

For information on ECAR subscriptions, research products, and activities, see http://www.educause.edu/ecar/ or e-mail ecar@educause.edu.

About EDUCAUSE

EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. The current membership comprises more than 2,200 colleges, universities, and educational organizations, including 250 corporations, with 17,000 active members. Learn more about EDUCAUSE at www.educause.edu.

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