Strategic development of a master's program on the World Wide Web

Quality teaching requires more than masterful professors. In today's academic environments, leaders in educational institutions have responsibilities to supply fiscal and human resources that support settings conducive to learning and that instill human, educational, and professional values. Recent technologic advances have shifted the capacities to deliver programs of study outside traditional classrooms. The World Wide Web can deliver nursing courses that are complex, multimedia, and interactive. Planning to offer a degree program on-line requires examining the organization's mission and philosophy as well as allocating human and fiscal resources to the project. As leaders implement innovations, such as distance learning on-line, they must address the organization's political challenges and cultural changes. When leaders seek to introduce innovation within their organizations, they must be prepared for excitement as well as anxiety and resistance. Leadership also requires evaluating performance and outcomes for quality education. In addition, they strive to meet expectations of quality of all stakeholders. J Prof Nurs 17:166-172, 2001.