Online Learning in Higher Education: Faculty Readiness in Nigerian Universities

This paper assessed lecturers’ readiness for online learning in Nigerian universities. Recent developments in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have impacted every sector of society, including education. Consequently, online learning is growing considerably worldwide as today’s students, being digital natives, are looking for more effective, efficient ways of obtaining information and knowledge in formal and informal settings. Educators, especially faculty members, are expected to give serious consideration to how education should be provided and sustained if their institutions will continue to remain relevant in the face of these developments. In this study, 188 lecturers from six universities were surveyed. Faculty readiness was defined in terms of the level of access to the Internet; the level of application of instructional design principles in courseware development for online learning; the current level of technology usage for learning, teaching and research; and influence of gender on ICT skills. This research employed the concurrent mixed-methods survey in evaluating lecturers’ readiness for online learning in Nigeria. The research results showed positive online learning features (situational and dispositional), as there is evidence that faculty possessed relatively good Internet access; good evidence of adoption of courseware development principles required for online learning; and a high degree of basic technology usage, skills and competences needed for online learning. However, no significant influence of gender on lecturers’ ICT skills was established. It was concluded that faculty members in Nigeria were ready for online learning.