Integrating E-learning for Administrative Staff Professional Development: An Inside View from Moroccan Higher Education Institutions

Online learning is increasingly solicited around the world within and across several sectors. It also involves higher education (HE), as it operates in a global, unstable environment, where communication and information technology are the fundamental keys. This study seeks to examine the Moroccan employees’ perception of this innovative way of learning and its impact on their professional development. It also aims at investigating the presence of distance learning as an approach growing in popularity within the administration of Moroccan universities. This qualitative study uses a semi-structured interview with 76 employees in seven Moroccan Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The results reveal that the majority of participants have rarely used online learning, in spite of their willingness and insistence on its positive impact on their professional progress. The interviewees reported their proactive view to accelerate the implementation of digital learning to meet the world standards, as it would also serve as an appropriate way for their continuous professional development and their ability to face critical situations. The present research shows the significant necessity of integrating new ways of learning in Higher Education Administrations (HEAs). The present work assumes the research hypothesis H1: e-learning is not promoted for employees’ career advancement in Moroccan HEAs. This study recommends an anticipatory vision to transgress any reticence to change, since online learning approach would bring more productivity and success for the administrations and the employees themselves, as well as closer institutional alignment with the revolutionary digital world.