NCU Mentors write the book on Teaching Online

December 15, 2006Prescott, Arizona Northcentral University (www.ncu.edu), a leader in online higher education, is pleased to announce the publication of a new book by two of its Mentors, Dr. Danielle Babb and Dr. Jim Mirabella. The book, Make Money Teaching Online, is based on their own experience as online professors. Published by Wiley, the book is slated for release in early January 2007.

The authors help frame the context for their field with a telling quote from a U.S. Department of Education report:

No trend has changed the face of higher education more than the shift away from a corps of full-time, tenure-track faculty to a contingent instructional workforce. That work force includes part-time/adjunct faculty, full-time/non-tenure track faculty, and graduate employees. Together these employees now make up an amazing 70 percent of the 1.3 million employee instructional workforce in higher education.

This marked trend in academe has resulted in a shift toward free-lance faculty, of which Drs. Babb and Mirabella are emblematic. As their author biographies put it, each teaches for many online universities. One of those universities is of course Northcentral University where their academic and business backgrounds, most particularly in the area of statistics, allow them to serve as mentors in more than one NCU departmenta very unusual distinction.

Northcentral University is a 100% online university, currently serving more than 4,000 learners in every state in the United States and over 50 countries worldwide. NCUs faculty mentors include fulltime, research, and adjunct faculty with academic and professional credentials in business, education, and psychology. There are currently more than 270 NCU faculty mentors, including Dr. Babb, an NCU Mentor for almost two years, and Dr. Mirabella, a Mentor since April 2004.

As the book explains, the growing demand for online education exceeds the current supply of qualified instructors. This may change as more adjunct/part-time faculty grow discouraged by employment conditions at traditional institutions, but even so, opportunities to teach on a free-lance are abundant. Make Money Teaching Online goes into detail on how individuals with doctoral degrees, masters degreeseven bachelors degrees, retired military, experienced professionals and otherscan find work in the field.

Make Money Teaching Online addresses the qualification issue in depth, discussing the various tiers in higher education and the level of education each is likely to require of their faculty. Regionally accredited schools like NCU, for example, which contracts almost exclusively with those who have earned doctoral level degrees, maintain quite rigorous standards. But as Babb and Mirabella point out, contemporary higher education is a field of infinite variety, and there are any number of schools out there who deem a masters degreeor even lesser credentials, particularly when buttressed by extraordinary experiential backgroundssufficient for contract instructors.

Covering all this and much more, the authors have written a step-by-step guide for people who are considering putting their education to work by educating other people. There simply is no better guide than Make Money Teaching Online for those interested in this burgeoning field.

Danielle Babb earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Organization and Management from Capella University and a Master of Business Administration at University of Redlands (CA). Her Bachelor of Science degree is also in business, from University of California at Riverside. She teaches courses in technology management, information systems, statistics, research and management. Dr. Babb has written and presented numerous papers on technology and business, and has become a specialist in the field of technologys impact on business. She makes her home in Newport Beach, California and maintains a professional website at www.drdaniellebabb.com

Jim Mirabella earned his Doctor of Business Administration in Management at Nova Southeastern University and an M.B.A. with emphasis on quantitative analysis from Auburn University. Prior to that he was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Operations Research by the United States Air Force Academy and has an extensive background doing research analysis for the U.S. Air Force, for numerous corporations and for higher education. Dr. Mirabella currently consults in survey design and analysis while teaching a full load of courses in face-to-face and online universities. He is also a frequent speaker at conferences on research and at statistics workshops, and now presents a career workshop on successfully becoming an online adjunct professor. He resides in Jacksonville, Florida and also maintains a professional website, www.drjimmirabella.com.

For more information about the book or for advance orders, visit www.teachonlinebook.com.