Institutional Commitment: What It Is and How to Get It

Abstract

Institutional commitment is essential to developing and sustaining successful distance-education programs. This article begins by placing the discussion of institutional commitment within the context of today's distance-education or online environment and argues for the role of regional accrediting bodies in implementing best practices and quality assurance in distance education. It then explains why broad-based institutional commitment is necessary and recommends strategies for obtaining it. The author delineates different strategies for various institutional stakeholders such as students, faculty, administrators, and alumni. The author concludes by drawing on his personal observation and experience in developing a collaborative distance education degree program, noting the success of these different strategies with multiple stakeholders.