Continuous Improvement Process in Web-Based Education at a Public University

Web-based education (WBE) is growing by leaps and bounds and is expected to reach more than 5 million people in 2006. The survival of institutions providing WBE depends on how successfully they deliver value to their customers. This paper presents a case study of the introduction and continuous improvement of a Web-based business program at a professionally accredited school of business in a public university. This school is one of the early pioneers in offering online education among public, professionally accredited schools of business. The paper discusses the school's motivations for introducing Web-based education, the process it utilized to launch the program, some of the challenges it encountered at different phases of the program's implementation, and the continuous improvement approach it utilized to overcome these challenges. This institution's experience may provide invaluable insight to other public universities that are considering launching online programs.