Building Online Communities in Higher Education Institutions

Carolyn N. Stevenson holds an M.A. in Communication, MBA, and Ed.D. with an emphasis in Educational Leadership and Organizational Change. She has over 18 years teaching and administrative experience in higher education. Her current research interests lie in qualitative research, online education and emerging technology in educational settings. She is a member of review committees for a number of international journals and is actively involved in the American Educational Research Association and The Association for Women in Communications. She is a full-time Communication faculty member at Kaplan University.
Joanna C. Bauer, has a business background in corporate communication, employee and faculty training and business development including communication, corporate strategy, special events and media relations. She combines her business background with over thirteen years of experience teaching and in administrative roles for online and onground modalities in communication, critical thinking and related areas of higher education. She earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degree in Communication and has been recognised with various teaching and curriculum development awards. She is currently working as a full-time faculty member for the Communication Department at Kaplan University. Her research interests include developing critical thinking, community and civic engagement, curriculum development and pedagogy and cultural communication. She enjoys interacting with diverse students and focuses on combining academic theory with real world application so that every day students can apply the material learned to business and personal goals.

Members of today's online educational settings are often isolated which can prohibit the sharing of ideas and best practices among individuals working and learning as a collective group. Promoting collaboration across various disciplines and departments fosters professional development activities, as well as creates strong connections to the entire online community. Building Online Communities in Higher Education Institutions: Creating Collaborative Experience cultivates knowledge on topics pertaining to the improvement of communication and collaboration in online learning communities. Advancing the current scope of research in this field, this book is designed for use by faculty, students, researchers, practitioners, and college administrators interested in strengthening communication and collaboration in virtual settings.