Institutional Support for the Virtual Professor

Academics who hold positions at single-mode, distance education institutions are presently being hampered by an adherence to a long-standing set of protocols (specific office location, face-to-face meetings) that were put in place when the conventional post-secondary was the norm. With the advent of a powerful merging of personal computers and the internet, a shift from those protocols to one of support for the virtual professor is in the offing, to the benefit of both the professoriate and the student. A key factor in this shift is the degree and quality of institutional support that will allow these changes to take place. This paper focuses on a number of the key factors that will have to be addressed if this new type of distance education academic is to function effectively.