Years of work experience as well as higher education with a minimum of 1 degree above the level of teaching are best when combined to be the best candidates for hiring staff. Regulations for hiring staff can be very complex, some specific proprietary schools that focus on specific careers such as healthcare (nursing) uhave state regulators but also clinical partners may have a say (aka consumer protection agencies, not just the Dept of Ed. 

Instructors need clearly defined expectations for their online courses in order to be successful. The metrics used to measure success are not necessarily the basic instructional tasks, such as discussion posts, but other, more interactive uses of the content provided. The evaluation of the instructor should be based on these more robust areas of assessment and improved upon using curriculum feedback from quantitative data first. Instructors also need annual trainings and evaluations to improve their teaching and course outcomes. 

As technology improves/changes, new regulations and policies need to be created, and they need to be created at the national, state, and institutional levels; they may need to be program-specific as well. They also need to be in compliance with each other and existing policies. 

Many career-oriented schools are priortizing highering SME's that have ongoing work experience and are up to date with the industry standards. Adjunct faculty can be a real asset if utilized appropriately and trained in teaching.  Having a balance of both full-time faculty members and adjunct faculty SME's keeps a balance of consistency and quality of the latest industry standards.