Designing faculty standards for technology integration in higher education institutions: a design-based research study

Abstract This design-based research study responds to the call from scholars, organizations, and institutions to address the gap in scholarly knowledge regarding the lack of technology standards for faculty in higher education. These standards cover the three areas of faculty workload: teaching, research, and service. Conducted over two iterative macro cycles, this unique study engaged 114 participants, including faculty from a range of disciplines and institutional types, accreditation organizations and coordinators, and education and technology organizations. The outcome is a framework comprising six faculty standards; Instructor, Coordinator, Leader, Researcher, Learner, and Contributor. Each outcome is accompanied by practical indicators that support effective, ethical, and contextually relevant technology use across teaching, research, and service. Faculty, administrators, and academic support staff, including Deans, Provosts, accreditation leads, instructional designers, researchers, and curriculum developers, can use these standards to provide a flexible structure to guide faculty development, inform institutional planning, and align with accreditation processes.