As digital tools reshape teaching, research, and service, the ISTE Standards for Faculty offer a research-backed framework to help higher education institutions integrate technology with clarity, intention, and academic integrity.
GUEST COLUMN | by Helen Crompton
Higher education faculty are navigating increasingly complex expectations related to teaching, research, and service, while responding to the evolving needs of diverse student populations. Faculty work to design engaging learning experiences, support student success across multiple instructional modalities, and prepare learners for a rapidly changing professional world. Within this context, digital technologies play an important but supporting role.
‘There is growing recognition of the need for a clear, research-informed framework that helps faculty integrate technology in ways that strengthen teaching, enhance student learning, and support the full scope of academic work.’
There is growing recognition of the need for a clear, research-informed framework that helps faculty integrate technology in ways that strengthen teaching, enhance student learning, and support the full scope of academic work. This recognition provided the foundation for the development of the ISTE Standards for Faculty.
Creating Research-Based Standards
The ISTE Standards for Faculty were created through a research study led by the Research Institute for Digital Innovation in Learning at Old Dominion University (ODU), with the International Society for Technology in Education serving as a strategic partner. ODU was invited to lead this work in recognition of its expertise in digital innovation. The study was designed, conducted, and refined by ODU researchers in close collaboration with higher education stakeholders across institutional types and disciplines.
ISTE brings long-standing credibility to this work. As the world’s largest education technology nonprofit organization, ISTE has a global reputation for developing highly regarded standards that guide educational practice across the United States and internationally. The ISTE Standards for Educators, Students, and Education Leaders are widely used by institutions, systems, and ministries of education around the world. By stewarding and naming this new framework the ISTE Standards for Faculty, ISTE is extending that trusted legacy to higher education faculty, ensuring that ODU-led research has broad reach and sustained impact across global higher education systems.
The research underpinning the standards followed a rigorous design-based research methodology. Across two iterative cycles, 114 participants contributed to the development and refinement of the framework. Participants included faculty from a wide range of disciplines and institution types, directors of teaching and learning centers, accreditation coordinators, representatives of accrediting organizations, educational technology organizations, and international faculty from multiple continents. This collaborative approach ensured the standards were grounded in faculty practice, responsive to institutional realities, and aligned with accreditation expectations, while remaining applicable across national and cultural contexts.
‘This collaborative approach ensured the standards were grounded in faculty practice, responsive to institutional realities, and aligned with accreditation expectations, while remaining applicable across national and cultural contexts.’
The resulting framework consists of six standards that reflect the diverse roles faculty hold in higher education: Instructor, Coordinator, Leader, Researcher, Learner, and Contributor. Each standard is accompanied by indicators that illustrate what effective technology integration can look like in practice. Importantly, the standards are intentionally flexible. They do not prescribe specific tools or platforms, recognizing that technologies change rapidly and that disciplines, institutions, and countries differ in their digital ecosystems and priorities.
Enhancing Teaching Outcomes
A central contribution of the ISTE Standards for Faculty is their focus on strengthening teaching quality. The “Instructor” standard emphasizes intentional design of learning opportunities, inclusive and accessible learning environments, effective facilitation across all modalities, and the use of technology to assess and improve student learning. Rather than encouraging technology use for its own sake, the standards focus on purpose, supporting faculty in making informed decisions about when and how technology enhances learning, student experience, and preparation for professional practice.
Ensuring Alignment with Accreditation
The standards also offer clear value for accreditation and institutional quality assurance. Throughout the research process, accreditation coordinators and representatives from accrediting bodies consistently noted strong alignment between the standards and accreditation expectations. In several instances, participants observed that the standards exceeded current requirements. Because the framework addresses teaching, research, and service, it provides institutions with a coherent way to demonstrate faculty effectiveness, support continuous improvement, and align professional development with accreditation processes.
Supporting Faculty Amid Rapid Change
Faculty interactions with technology are further strengthened through standards that address leadership, research, and service. The Leader standard highlights ethical, legal, and responsible technology use, advocacy for accessibility, and innovation that benefits institutions and communities. The Researcher standard recognizes the central role of digital tools in contemporary scholarship, from data collection and analysis to collaboration and dissemination. The Contributor standard acknowledges the digital dimensions of service work, including committee participation, peer review, and professional engagement. Underlying all six standards is the importance of maintaining digital fluency. Higher education continues to face rapid technological change, shifting student expectations, and evolving workforce demands.
‘Underlying all six standards is the importance of maintaining digital fluency. Higher education continues to face rapid technological change, shifting student expectations, and evolving workforce demands.’
At Old Dominion University and beyond, the standards provide a research-based foundation that supports excellence in teaching, research, and service. With ODU’s leadership and ISTE’s global reach, the ISTE Standards for Faculty are positioned to support faculty practice across higher education worldwide.
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Helen Crompton, Ph.D. is a Professor of Instructional Technology and Executive Director of the Research Institute for Digital Innovation in Learning at ODUGlobal, and Director of the Virtual Reality Lab at Old Dominion University. Recognized among Stanford’s top 2% of scientists worldwide, her work focuses on educational technology, immersive learning, and effective technology integration. She frequently advises governments and international organizations, including the United Nations and the World Bank. Connect with Helen on LinkedIn.
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