634
Balancing Accuracy of Promised Ship Date and IT Costs
supply chain simulation under order-to-delivery
environment. In Proceedings of the 2002 Winter
Simulation Conference. E. Yücesan, C. H. Chen,
J. L. Snowdon, & J. M. Charnes (Eds.) (pp. 1260-
1268).
This work was previously published in the International Journal of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management, edited
by J. Wang, Volume 1, Issue 1, pp. 1-14, copyright 2008 by IGI Publishing (an imprint of IGI Global).
635
Copyright © 2009, IGI Global, distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
Chapter 2.19
Developing and Delivering
Online Courses
Jayavel Sounderpandian
University of Wisconsin-Parkside, USA
Manohar Madan
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, USA
ABSTRACT
Distance education, which started out with closed
circuit TV technology, has evolved into completely
online courses. Not surprisingly, online education
has emerged as a major form of e-business. This
chapter offers helpful suggestions for those who
are planning to develop and deliver online courses,
either as part of an existing degree program or as
a new totally online degree program. Wherever
needed, an online MBA program is used as an
example. The chapter considers such things as
mission, curriculum planning, curriculum control,
marketing, scheduling, course development, ex-

pectations from students and faculty, and strengths
and weaknesses of online education.
INTRODUCTION
Traditional classroom (or face-to-face, or F2F)
instruction requires the students and instructor
to be at the same place at the same time. In other
words, the instructor and the students are place
bound and time bound. Early forms of distance
education
1
removed the need for them to be place
bound. The earliest form of distance education
started with the closed-circuit TV technology,
where the audio and video signals of an instructor’s
lecture were transmitted to a distant location so
WKDWVWXGHQWVDWWKDWORFDWLRQFRXOGDOVR³DWWHQG
the class.” A clear advantage of this technology
was that it eliminated or greatly reduced commut-
ing needs for students and instructors. Later, the
signals were compressed and carried via closed
circuit or broadcasted using a satellite so that
the signals could be delivered to several remote
ORFDWLRQVHI¿FLHQWO\&RQVHTXHQWO\FRPSUHVVHG
video became a popular technology for distance
education.
The advent of Internet changed the technology
radically so that asynchronous communication
could be utilized. Reading materials and activi-
ties of a course could be stored at a Web site for
636

Developing and Delivering Online Courses
secure access from anywhere at any time. Stu-
GHQWVDQGLQVWUXFWRUVFRXOG³FRPHWRWKHFODVV´
individually at a time convenient to them and
carry out all classroom activities. This turned
out to be a great convenience to them, because
not only are they not place bound but now they
are also not time bound. As a result, demand for
online education grew rapidly. Today, a Google
VHDUFKRIWKHSKUDVH³RQOLQHHGXFDWLRQ´SURGXFHV
more than a billion hits. Worldwidelearn.com,
DirectoryofSchools.com, USNews.com and Get-
Educated.com are good Web sites to get a list of
available online degree programs. For a survey of
literature on distance education, including online
education, see Bryant et al. (Bryant, Kahle, &
Schafer, 2005).
MBA has been a popular degree program
since the 1960s, and it still enjoys a high demand.
It is no wonder that online MBA programs are
increasing in popularity, because the advantages
of being not place bound and not time bound
are especially attractive to business employees.
Private and public schools have raced to claim
their share of the online market. Crawford (2005)
reports an estimate of 125,000 online MBA stu-
dents in the year 2005. A list of well-recognized
MBA programs can be found at the Web site,
BusinessWeek.com, and online MBA programs
at GetEducated.com. Since many online programs

are constantly being added and deleted, most lists
are not up-to-date.
Online training of employees has also been
increasing rapidly. Corporations have found it
more cost effective to train their employees using
online programs. Such programs eliminate the
need for employees to travel, saving a sizeable
amount of money for the company. For details on
the advantages of online training of employees,
see Blake et al. (Blake, Gibson, & Blackwell,
2005).
CONSONANCE WITH THE MISSION
A university interested in starting an online
GHJUHHSURJUDPVKRXOG¿UVWH[DPLQHLIVXFKDQ
action is in line with its mission. The university
may have an obligation to its on-site students as
laid out in its mission. Starting an online program
should not in any way jeopardize that obligation.
A reason for concern is that the new program
will need substantial investments during the
beginning years, and some recurring needs for
resources in later years. In return, of course, the
RQOLQHSURJUDPSURPLVHVWRJHQHUDWHVXI¿FLHQW
revenues in future years. However, Folkers (2005)
has cited several examples of failures of online
education. Such examples and their reasons for
failure will have to be analyzed to ensure that the
contemplated online program will succeed and
existing on-site programs will not be adversely
affected. Folkers (2005) also provides a detailed

discussion of incorporating online education as
part of higher learning.
An additional consideration with respect to
the mission is whether the online program is
EHQH¿WLQJWKHFOLHQWHOHLQWHQGHGLQWKHPLVVLRQ
For instance, suppose the mission implies service
to only a regional population. The economics of
an online program may require admitting a large
proportion of students from outside the region.
Whether this affects the mission of serving the
region should be carefully examined. It could be
that by offering an online program that educates
nonregional students, a university generates
substantial additional income that can be used to
educate regional students F2F. In this case, the
RQOLQHSURJUDPZLOOEHMXVWL¿HG7KHLQVWLWXWLRQ
may also consider amending the mission in light
of online opportunities.
For certain programs, the mission may call
for maintaining a minimum quality level, usually
in the form of maintaining an accreditation. For
MBA programs, the accreditation by AACSB
International (Association for Advancement of
637
Developing and Delivering Online Courses
Collegiate Schools of Business, International) is
valued highly. The accreditation standards call
for certain minimum requirements in starting
new programs and ma
intaining the quality of an

existing program that is newly delivered online.
7KH VWDQGDUGV DUH UH¿QHG FRQWLQXDOO\ DQG WKH
current information can be found at the AACSB
Web site (http://
www.aacsb.edu). At the time this
article was written, the standards for every new
program required the following
.
Demand Analysis
$MXVWL¿FDWLRQIRUVWDUWLQJDQHZSURJUDPUHTXLUHV
a proof of healthy demand for the program. This
may be done in several ways. One way is to conduct
a survey of the intended market. Another way is to
analyze the demand for existing similar programs
at other comparable schools and apply it to the
intended program at the intended location.
Resource Analysis
As already explained, the new program will need
¿QDQFLDO LQVWUXFWLRQDO DQG DGPLQLVWUDWLYH UH-
sources. These requirements should be estimated,
DQGUHVRXUFHVPXVWEHLGHQWL¿HG
Learning Goals
For any new program, a set of learning goals
VKRXOGEH¿QDOL]HG/HDUQLQJJRDOVVKRXOGEHHV-
tablished not only for each course, but also for the
whole program. AACSB is keen on program-level
learning goals, and expects detailed processes
for assurance of learning. These processes are
discussed next.
Assurance of Learning

For each program level learning goal, processes
should be in place to ensure that at least some
minimum percentage of students are achieving
those goals before they graduate. The assurance
that a particular student has achieved a particular
goal can come about through embedded exer-
cises and exam questions in selected courses.
The assessment of a student’s achievement of
DJRDOVKRXOGEHYHUL¿HGE\DJURXSRIIDFXOW\
members rather than by a single person, prefer-
ably including some outsiders. When the number
of students in the program is large, sampling a
representative set of students and assessing only
the sampled students is admissible. A detailed
discussion of assurance of learning is presented
in a subsequent section.
Organizational Structure
Developing and delivering online courses involve
many personnel whose efforts need to be coordi-
nated. It also involves a considerable amount of
monetary investment. Needless to say, the whole
process needs to be systematically organized. The
commonly observed organization structure is
shown in Figure 1. At the top we have the Project
Management Team, which typically consists of
representatives from university administration,
faculty, and technical services. This team is re-
sponsible for managing the whole project, with
special attention to budgets and deadlines. Below
it are the Curriculum Planning and Control Com-

mittee, the Technical Services Committee, and the
Marketing and Public Relations Committee. The
functions of Curriculum and Technical Services
Committees are described in some detail. The
Marketing and Public Relations Committee is
responsible for building the image of the program
and recruiting students.
The developers of individual online courses
report to the Curriculum Planning and Control
Committee, and the Web technicians report to
the Technical Services Committee. The Project
Management Team should be aware of possible
turnover of personnel, especially among the Web
technicians, and must be prepared to manage it.
638
Developing and Delivering Online Courses
The organization chart in Figure 1 applies
only to the course development phase. After the
courses are developed and the program is started,
other entities such as course instructors, business
services, and student information system come
into play.
REVENUE ALLOCATION
7KH¿QDQFLDOVLGHRIRQOLQHFRXUVHGHYHORSPHQW
and delivery can be different from that of onsite
development and delivery due to the differences
that exist between the two modes. Essentially,
there are the following cost centers that would
need to share the revenue:
• Program administration

• Instruction
• Technical services
• Student information system
• Student services
• Business services
• Marketing
Program administration is the owner of the
enterprise and holds the equity. The administra-
tion needs to arrive at a formula for sharing the
revenue among the cost centers. The formula may
LQFOXGH¿[HGSD\PHQWVSOXVDSHUFHQWDJHRIWKH
revenues. For example, at the course development
stage, the instructors who develop the course
DUHSDLGD¿[HGDPRXQWXVXDOO\DFFRUGLQJWRD
negotiated contract. When a course is offered,
WKHLQVWUXFWRULVXVXDOO\SDLGD¿[HGDPRXQWWR
teach that course. Some universities may pay an
additional bonus on a per-student basis, recogniz-
ing the fact that the teaching effort increases with
the number of students in the class. Occasionally,
an instructor may be paid a bonus for teaching
H[FHOOHQFHWKDWLVUHÀHFWHGLQVD\WKHVWXGHQWV¶
feedback on instructor performance.
6LPLODUO\DWWKHEHJLQQLQJRIDFRXUVHD¿[HG
amount of effort from technical services depart-
ment is needed to set up the Web site. Addition-
ally, as the course proceeds, the technical effort
needed for the course increases with the number
of students in the course. The technical service
Figure 1. Organization chart for online course development


Course Development
Project Management
Curriculum Planning
& Control Committee
Technical Services
Committee
Marketing and Public
Relations Committee
Individual Course
Developers
Technicians
639
Developing and Delivering Online Courses
GHSDUWPHQWLVWKHUHIRUHSDLGD¿[HGVXPSOXVD
per-student fee.
Student information system keeps track of
student enrollments and grades. Student services
LQFOXGHDGYLVLQJ¿QDQFLDODLGDQGFRXQVHOLQJ
7KHVHVHUYLFHVZLOOLQFXUERWK¿[HGDQGSHUVWX-
dent costs. Finally, the marketing department may
EHSDLGD¿ [HGIHHIRUU X Q Q L QJWKHDGYHU W LVHPHQW V
and recruiting students. The department may be
SDLGD¿[HGDPRXQWSHU\HDUIRUDGYHUWLVLQJHIIRUWV
and a per-student amount for students recruited
by that department.
CURRICULUM PLANNING
If an existing F2F program is being planned for
online delivery, then no new curriculum needs to
be designed. But if the planned online program

is completely new, then the whole curriculum of
the program needs to be carefully designed. The
¿UVWVWHSLVWR¿QDOL]HWKHOHDUQLQJJRDOVIRUWKH
curriculum as a whole, which will serve as a guide
for developing individual courses. Because the
overall curriculum plan drives all the individual
courses, this plan is very important. It should be
designed by a Curriculum Planning and Control
Committee of faculty members, with representa-
tion from each functional area of the program.
The curriculum plan for an MBA program
will typically include foundation courses, core
courses, and elective courses. The foundation
courses are needed for those who enter the program
without a business background, such as science or
engineering graduates. Those who have a recent
Figure 2. The concepts vs. courses matrix
ACCT
701
ACCT
702
FIN
731
FIN
732
HRM
741
HRM
742
MIS

721
MKT
751
MKT
752

Accounting
Double Entry Method
x
Financial Statements
xx
Cos ting Methods
x
Activity Based Costing
x
Transfer Pricing
x
GAAP
xx x

Finance
Time Value of Money
xx
Financial Ratios
xxx
Cos t of Capital
xx
Working Capital Mgmt
x
Financial Markets

x
Financial Institutions
x
Investment
x

Human Res. Mgmt.
Info. Systems
Marketing
Busi ne ss S tra tegy
Required Courses
A
n x mark in the matrix entry implies
the topic on the row is covered in the
course on the column.
640
Developing and Delivering Online Courses
undergraduate degree in business are usually
waived from foundation courses.
The core courses are required of all students.
They are expected to cover all the functional areas
of business, and additionally, essential compo-
nents such as ethics, leadership, communication,
global economy, and information technology. Fi-
nally, there should be opportunity for the students
to integrate their knowledge gained from various
functional areas and apply them to tackle real or
hypothetical business problems. Real-world case
studies are routinely employed for this purpose.
An important requirement of the core courses is

that together they should cover all the concepts
that are necessary to achieve the learning goals
set for the program.
Electives are meant to give a student the
opportunity to specialize in an area that he/she
wishes. AACSB requires at least a total of 30
credits for core and elective courses put together.
If a school has a total of 30 credits in its MBA
program, it is common to see anywhere between
9 to 15 credits of electives.
A simple technique that may be used to sum-
marize the essential part of the curriculum plan is
the concepts vs. courses matrix. Though simple,
the matrix proves to be an effective tool. The rows
in the matrix represent the concepts (or topics)
that are planned to be covered in the program. The
columns are the required courses in the program.
(See Figure 2.) The entries in the matrix are either
a check mark to show that a concept is covered in
the corresponding course, or a number that rep-
resents the hours that an average student spends
on that topic by completing the program. Such a
matrix gives a nice summary of the curriculum
with respect to the concepts planned in the cur-
riculum. It helps not only the implementation of
the plan, but also the maintenance of the whole
curriculum. For instance, if a course is revised
for any reason, the matrix can be used to ensure
all the concepts that are necessary to keep in the
revised version. In the next section, we shall see

how to implement this plan.
CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION
AND MAINTENANCE
Curriculum control is necessary for any program,
whether it is online or F2F, for proper implemen-
tation. Fortunately, curriculum control is a lot
easier in online programs, because the content
FDQ EH HDVLO\ YHUL¿HG E\ MXVW ORRNLQJ LQWR WKH
course Web site.
The process of collecting data for concepts vs.
courses matrix is as follows. For every required
course, the instructor of the course submits a
course overview form to the school. (See Figure
3.) At the top of the form there are details such
as course name and number, semester, instructor
name, and textbook used. Below this information
is a matrix where the rows are the concepts and
the columns are the weeks of the course. If there
are 8 weeks of classes, then there will be eight
columns in the matrix. The instructor of the course
enters, at the top of each column, the list of activi-
ties that the students perform that week, and the
description of the concept along the rows. (Later
in this chapter it will be seen that every course is
W R E H D V V LJ Q H G D ³ I D F X O W \ L Q  F K D U J H´RI L W V F R Q W H QW  
If the instructor is not the faculty-in-charge, then
the instructor will consult the faculty-in-charge
LQGHVLJQLQJWKHFRXUVHFRQWHQWDQG¿OOLQJLQWKH
course overview form.) The entries in the matrix
are the number of hours an average student spends

on each topic. By collecting this information for
all required courses, the coverage of the concepts
can be summarized. A spreadsheet format is very
convenient for this purpose.
All course overview forms are organized as
worksheets within a single workbook, and a sum-
mary sheet in the front adds the number of hours
spent on each concept. The summary sheet thus
provides a listing of concepts and the emphasis
placed on each concept in the program. This in-
formation is very valuable for curriculum control.
Each sheet workbook can serve as a record of
course content that can be communicated to any
other instructor who is asked to teach the same
641
Developing and Delivering Online Courses
course. The individual course sheets and the sum-
mary sheet should be continually updated.
It should be noted that the course overview
IRUPVDQGWKHVXPPDU\DUHRQO\³LQSXWV´WRWKH
students. More actions and documentation are
needed to achieve assurance of learning. In the
case of MBA programs, the accrediting body,
AACSB, is less interested in the inputs, and a
lot more interested in assurance of learning.
This brings us to the next section on assurance
of learning.
ASSURANCE OF LEARNING
Assessment of a program is necessary to main-
tain and continuously improve its quality. The

literature on assessment is very vast. Suskie
(2004), Walvoord (2004), Gronlund (2005), and
Palomba and Banta (1999) are standard references
for assessment. Lately, the emphasis has shifted
to learning from teaching. Thus, one should
concentrate on assurance of learning rather than
the teaching aspects in a program. The important
steps in assurance of learning are:
 'H¿QHOHDUQLQJJRDOV
2. Provide students opportunities for achieving
the learning goals.
3. Assess student learning.
4. Use assessment results to assure learning.
/HDUQLQJ JRDOV DUH GH¿QHG XVLQJ %ORRP¶V
taxonomy (Bloom, 1984). For MBA programs,
AACSB recommends four to eight such goals at
the program level. At the individual course level,
there will be separate sets of goals. The differ-
ence in program-level learning goals (PLLGs)
compared to course-level learning goals (CLLGs)
is that PLLGs are to be tracked more closely
Figure 3. Course overview form
Course Overview
Name of the Course:
Name of the Instructor:
Textbook Used:
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Learning
Activities
Asse sse d

Topics
Total
Topic 1
Topic 2
Topic 3
Topic 4
Topic 5
Topic 6
Topic 7
Topic 8
Topic 9
Topic 10
The entries in the matrix are
hours spent by a typical
student during the week on
the topic
642
Developing and Delivering Online Courses
than CLLGs. One way to track PLLGs is to
create a (fake) online course using the software
Desire2Learn (D2L) for assurance of learning,
and enroll all active students in it. D2L allows
an online grade book that can be set up to track
the progress of each student against each PLLG.
7KLVPDNHVIRUDQHI¿FLHQWZD\WRDVVXUHWKDW
every student achieves every PLLG.
The second step is to provide opportunities
to students to achieve the learning goals. For
example, if attaining public speaking skills is a
goal, then it is not enough to just ask the students

to speak at a public forum. The curriculum should
include a required course where students are
taught public speaking principles. The concept
vs. course matrix in Figure 2 can help to ensure
that learning opportunities exist in the curriculum
for every goal.
The next step is assessment of each learning
goal. One way to assess CLLGs of core courses
is to employ the standardized tests offered by
the Educational Testing Service (ETS). ETS
offers tests for many majors including business
administration at the undergraduate and graduate
levels. Such tests are called Major Field Tests, and
are available at reasonable cost. The advantage
of the Major Field Tests is that they have exter-
nal validation, and can be used to compare one
institution with another or the national average.
Interested readers should consult the ETS Web
site () for the availability and details
of standardized tests in a desired major.
7KH¿QDOVWHSFORVHVWKHORRS5HVXOWVIURP
the assessment of student achievement should
be formally compiled and used for continuous
improvement of the curriculum. A committee
comprising faculty and other stakeholders should
ORRNDWWKHFRPSLOHGUHVXOWVORFDWHGH¿FLHQFLHVLQ
student performance, and formulate action plans
WRUHPRYHWKRVHGH¿FLHQFLHV
Almost all the literature on assurance of
learning or assessment assumes onsite courses

rather than online courses. Online courses may
need some special treatment. Marks et al. (Marks,
Sibley, & Arbaugh, 2005) discuss numerous as-
pects of online courses and how they may affect
student learning. Such studies can help a school
formulate special plans for assurance of learning.
They can also help to formulate action plans for
improving the curriculum after receiving a formal
assurance of learning report.
Technical Support
Offering online courses need extensive technical
support from a technical department. Technical
support is crucial to the success of the program.
Typically, the technical support provider is re-
sponsible for the following tasks.
Maintain the Web Servers
The service provider has to use reliable hardware
DV:HEVHUYHUV7KHVHUYHUVVKRXOGKDYHVXI¿FLHQW
capacity to handle the peak projected demand for
Internet communication, assuming all the students
are online at the same time.
Provide Course Development Support
Faculty members will have to work closely with
technicians in developing the Web pages of a
course. If the page requires advanced features such
D V Y LGH R D Q G DXG L R ¿ O H V  W K H Q H H G H G V X S S R U W Z L O O E H 
correspondingly more. Additionally, there will be
ongoing revisions to the course content. Processes
must be in place to take care of revisions.
Place the Courses Online

When a course is developed, it will have to be
made available at the desired URL. The techni-
cians should place the courses at the URL in a
timely manner so the instructors can check it well
DKHDGRIWKH¿UVWGD\RIFODVVHV
643
Developing and Delivering Online Courses
Provide Technical Support to Students
2QHLPSRUWDQWEHQH¿WRIRQOLQHHGXFDWLRQLVWKH
WHPSRUDOÀH[LELOLW\WKDWLVSURYLGLQJFKRLFHRI
time of learning to the students (Demirdjian,
$VRQOLQHOHDUQLQJUHTXLUHVVLJQL¿FDQW
use of technology, students will invariably face
technical problems. Hence, students will require
DVVLVWDQFHIURPTXDOL¿HGWHFKQLFLDQVWRDQVZHU
their questions on a 24/7 basis.
Maintain Uniformity of Web Pages Across
Different Courses
Students would expect/prefer standardization
of format of lectures, assignments, discussions,
and exams in all courses. The technicians are
expected to convey to the faculty their schemes
for formatting the different items in course Web
pages, and maintaining uniformity of pages across
all courses.
Conduct Student Surveys for Feedback
Online courses require more frequent monitoring
than on-site courses. It is customary to conduct a
course evaluation at least twice, midway through
the course and at the end, in order to facilitate

continuous improvement. Since this needs a
survey to be conducted online, the technicians
are once again involved.
As can be seen from the list of duties for tech-
QLFDOVWDIILWLVYHU\LPSRUWDQWWRKDYHTXDOL¿HG
and reliable technical support. A school may or
may not have such capability within the campus.
While on-campus technical support is common,
PDQ\VFKRROVGRXVHFRPPHUFLDORXW¿WVIRUWKH
purpose. If a school is planning to employ a com-
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be selected carefully.
Marketing Plans
The need for marketing an online degree program
cannot be overemphasized. A typical online
program may have the ability to attract a num-
ber of potential students outside the region. A
good marketing plan should include advertising
at popular Web sites. In the case of MBA, this
could be Businessweek.com. There are also spe-
cialized Web sites such as GetEducated.com and
Onlinedegrees.net. Of course, the university must
have its own attractive Web site. Many students
will check a program’s Web site to estimate the
quality of the program.
To attract regional students, it is necessary to
resort to traditional methods of marketing and
promotion. Printing well-designed brochures and
mailing them to local businesses and potential
students is a must. Additionally, the university

should conduct open houses and other forms of
informational sessions. Offering scholarships is
another way to attract students who may otherwise
go elsewhere.
Since many potential students may be outside
the region, the university must use recruiting
agents who travel to other campuses and educa-
tional fairs, domestic and foreign, to advertise the
program or conduct informational sessions.
A recent phenomenon is the emergence of
commercial agencies that offer recruiting services.
In populous countries such as India and China,
such agencies provide local expertise in recruiting
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cies in recruiting and tend to be quite successful
in identifying and attracting a sizeable number
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admission requirements.
Scheduling
Another important part of the plan for a new pro-
gram is the scheduling of courses. The required