This study offers descriptive information about distance learning courses and the faculty who teach them, and explores faculty members' opinions about distance learning. The report focuses only distance education as taught by full-time National Education Association faculty members at traditional two- and four-year colleges and universities to relatively small classes using highly interactive technologies. Data for the study is derived from interviews in February/March 2000 with a total of 402 distance learning faculty and 130 traditional faculty. The report examines the growth of distance learning courses; characteristics of NEA distance learning faculty (most are full-time and tenured; however, distance learning faculty are more likely to teach at community colleges); distance learning technologies used to communicate with students (primarily web-based and video technologies); course development (including institutional support and faculty rights); characteristics of distance learning students (approximately equally divided between older and younger, full- and part-time; mostly undergraduates); faculty opinions about distance learning (advantages, concerns about, and comparison of distance learning and traditional courses in meeting educational goals); and current compensation practices. Forty-one graphics are included. The survey design and methods are appended. (SM)