Turning Point for Digital Curricula: Educational Resources in U.S. Higher Education, 2022

This study explores how faculty members select and use the educational materials employed in their courses. The primary sample represents all teaching faculty across all types of degree-granting higher education institution in the United States. Two subgroups of faculty are called out for detailed examination: those teaching large-enrollment introductory level courses, and those teaching at minority serving institutions. This survey, conducted in April 2022 and covering the 2021-22 academic year, surveyed 1,843 faculty and 916 administrators from U.S. higher education institutions. The respondents represent all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This survey asked faculty and teachers about their current teaching situation, opinions and preferences on digital materials and tools, and satisfaction with their current curricula. There are questions that continue to gauge the impact of the pandemic in higher education, and measure trends in the use of remote learning and digital tools that were adopted in response to the pandemic. Faculty were also asked to provide ratings for the curricula they use, both overall and for specific factors like cost and accuracy. Opinions are not universal. While trends point to increasingly digital classrooms, a small but sizeable group of faculty do not like or want digital materials. The full spectrum of preferences from faculty and administrators (and likely students) means a diverse range of curricula materials are expected to be adopted; publishers would do well to offer a suite of offerings, in order to address divergent demands. [For "Digital Texts in the Time of COVID: Educational Resources in U.S. Higher Education, 2020," ED616838.]