Biography
Alan Francis began his career in sales, advertising, and management. After spending several years in the business world, he decided to pursue an undergraduate degree in 1998 at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Alan completed his bachelor’s degree in business and went on to successfully complete a Master of Science in Electronic Commerce, a Master in Business Administration, and a doctorate in Higher Education at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Alan’s employment at Texas A&M University-Commerce has included positions of adjunct instructor, instructional designer, and fulltime instructor.
As an instructional designer, Alan was responsible for helping in the development, design, and daily auditing of online curricula courses; entry of data into the course management system; assisting in the training of instructors in the use of the eCollege course management system; training instructors in the use of Adobe Presenter and Respondus software; and community workshop training in the use of Microsoft Office software.
Alan embarked on his new career as a fulltime instructor in the Texas A&M University-Commerce College of Business in 2008. He was excited to become a fulltime instructor as it offered opportunities to excel in his new career and work toward a goal of eventually attaining a tenure-track faculty position. That career goal will be left unfulfilled.
In the College of Business, Alan taught undergraduate courses in management information systems (MIS) and eight different online applied science courses. He also taught master’s level online courses in applied business research and research methods for executives. In addition, Alan advised undergraduate students, served on committees, and participated in a variety of department and university activities. Alan received teaching excellence awards from the Texas A&M University System in Spring 2010 and Fall 2010. Alan was moved from the College of Business by Administration in 2014 to the Department of Higher Education and Learning Technologies as a fulltime instructor.
In the Department of Higher Education and Learning Technologies, Alan has taught online higher education courses in research methodologies, issues in adult and developmental education, statistical procedures for education and research, and a web-enhanced seminar in instructional leadership. In addition, Alan has taught online undergraduate level courses in Global eLearning in the Department of Higher Education and Learning Technologies.
