Case Study- Web-Based Education Diffusion

Web-based education is diffusing across universities, disciplines, globes and educational levels. Many institutions are at the crossroad whether or not to adopt web-based education (WBE). In many cases their survival may depend on how successfully they can adopt WBE. In this regard, they can learn from the early adopters of WBE and, from their experiences, both good and bad without reinventing the wheel. This paper has two specific purposes: the first, describe WBE diffusion at a upper level university in the U.S., and, the second, is to discuss its diffusion experiences so that other universities can benefit from it. This paper relates diffusion of innovation theory and the 4 “P’s†of marketing to discuss Web education diffusion. We feel this is a first attempt in this direction. This paper should be useful worldwide for universities planning to start WBE and are looking for some guidance on “how†, “where†and “what†to follow to initiate the process.