[Air-L] Value of participation in online spaces toward tenure promotions

['Gail Taylor]

I am seeking resources about the value judgments that are being made by higher education administrators toward faculty participation in online spaces as opposed to other traditional venues. The request for information comes out of an ongoing conversation with members of an online community of practice. This CoP was formerly enabled by the listserve technology. The person who started the listserve was a faculty member at Penn State. The listserve was also administered at Penn State. The CoP is now a YAHOO group after the faculty member made the decision to relinquish control to others. Concerns have recently been raised about the vitality of the group. Some of the "old timers" are bringing historical information into the discussion, including issues related to changes in member composition.

I mentioned that the composition of members possibly changed because of the value that some university administrators place on faculty spending time/sharing information with others in online spaces that are not affiliated with a university, research foundation, professional association, or other identifiable entity. I seem to recall there was a conversation or two in the past that explored this and other closely related issues but not able to locate them in the archives. 

If you have any anecdotal information and/or resources to share, that would be great. Thanks!

Gail

Gail Taylor, M.Ed.
Human Resource Education Ph.D. Candidate
U of I Urbana-Champaign