No college or university can instantly build the infrastructure needed to support online programs across the institution. It takes time to build capacity, expertise and experience. Creating robust centralized online learning services requires leadership vision, alignment with the institutional strategic plan, faculty buy-in, the right online learning leadership and patience. Building central university services for online programs is also not cheap. Likely, the revenues that will ultimately support these activities will only come when a school reaches a critical mass of programs and students. The challenge is finding a way to articulate how online learning aligns with and supports the institutional mission.
