AT LARGE RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES, A COMMON APPROACH FOR TEACHING HUNDREDS OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT ONE TIME IS THE TRADITIONAL, LARGE LECTURE-BASED COURSE. TRENDS INDICATE THAT OVER THE NEXT DECADE THERE WILL BE AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF LARGE, ON- CAMPUS COURSES BEING OFFERED AS WELL AS LARGER ENROLLMENTS IN COURSES CURRENTLY OFFERED. AS UNIVERSITIES SEARCH FOR ALTERNATIVE MEANS TO ACCOMMODATE MORE STUDENTS AND THEIR LEARNING NEEDS, WEB-BASED INSTRUCTION PROVIDES AN ATTRACTIVE DELIVERY MODE FOR TEACHING LARGE, ON-CAMPUS COURSES. THE FIRST QUESTION WE MUST ASK IS WHETHER WEB-BASED INSTRUCTION CAN BE DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE QUALITY EDUCATION FOR THE TRADITIONAL, ON-CAMPUS STUDENT. YET, WITH THE PROMISE OF ACCESSIBILITY, INTERACTIVITY AND EASE OF USE, WEB-BASE DELIVERY MODES OFFER VIABLE SOLUTIONS FOR MEETING THE INSTRUCTIONAL NEEDS OF STUDENTS. THIS TEXT IDENTIFIES THE PROCEDURAL ISSUES TO CONSIDER WHEN ADAPTING A LARGE, LECTURE-BASED COURSE TO A WEB- BASED ENVIRONMENT AND IDENTIFIES PEDAGOGICAL ISSUES THAT INSTRUCTORS NEED TO CONSIDER.

Dr. Maureen Ellis is an Assistant Professor in the Business and Information Technologies Education Department at East Carolina University, located in Greenville, NC.