Higher education institutions are increasingly looking to online education as a means to broaden their market reach, increase student enrollments and ultimately realize increased tuition revenue. Many institutions, however, find that they have insufficient infrastructure resources to launch one or more fully online learning programs. A small…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the availability and effectiveness of administrative support elements for online teaching faculty, and introduce a faculty validated Matrix for use as a guide in development of administrative support for online programs. When administrators make decisions about the infrastructure support needs of a current…

The purpose of this article is to explore quality and growth implications emergent from various incremental costing models applied to distance education units. Prior research relative to costing models and three competing costing models useful in the current distance education environment are discussed. Specifically, the simple costing model, unit…

Schools of all types and sizes are exploring the merits and facets of online learning approaches; but, the online delivery literature has focused on "best practices" generated primarily through the experiences of larger schools that are on the leading edge of this innovation. Small public schools, on the other hand, are faced with unique…

The increasing demand for online courses requires efficient and low cost production. Since the decision to develop online courses is often affected by financial factors, it is becoming increasingly important to determine, upfront, the cost of online course production. Many of the programs and educators interested in developing online courses…

The recent revolution in information technology (IT) has significantly challenged society's perception and thinking about the world in which we live. Because of its many advantages, distance learning has been identified by educators, scholars, academicians, and researchers as one of the most effective ways to improve the quality of learning. This…

"Extending Virtual Access: Promoting Engagement and Retention through Integrated Support Systems" focuses upon expanding the scope of on-line instructional delivery to include academic support systems critical to ensuring that virtual learning environments are inclusive, accessible, instructive, and responsive to changing student needs.…

At the University of Florida, in Spring 2003, more than 32,000 individuals enrolled in courses using the centrally-supported Course Management System (CMS). Because less than 1 full time equivalent (FTE) was allocated to support the CMS, this created problems for both users and support providers. In the face of rapid growth, support resources for…

Using the experience of the University of Illinois at Springfield's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the as a foundation for discussion, this paper addresses the provision of student support services to distant students within the context of development and expansion. Specific issues for consideration include: integrating student support…