The Influence of Faculty Status and Native Language on Satisfaction for Online Faculty at a For-profit Institution

For-profit institutions have seen considerable growth in the last decade, and much of that growth has been accomplished with an expansion of online course offerings. Faculty satisfaction is a critical element in any academic institution, and this study looked at the influence of five demographic variables (faculty status, age, teaching experience, gender, and language status) on satisfaction for online faculty. This study analyzed data from 241 surveys of online faculty at a for-profit institution. Findings indicated that faculty status (defined as full-time or part-time teaching exclusively at the for-profit school and full-time or part-time teaching at other institutions including the for-profit) and language status influenced satisfaction, but other demographic variables had no significant influence. The authors also discuss the implications of faculty status as an emerging issue at for-profit institutions.