A Case Study in Online Delivery

Abstract

This case study explores the journey that allowed the music faculty at a small public university in North Dakota to create a groundbreaking undergraduate online music major. The narrative travels from resistance to acceptance and from tradition to innovation. The events are described from the perspective of two faculty members who approached the adaptation of technology into the music program from polar opposites, one highly in tune with the world of technology and the other highly resistant. This chapter presents the history of the online music degree, including its seminal beginnings, the technology innovations that drove the process, the evolution of essential team buy-in, the skills acquired by faculty, and the processes developed for delivery. Online teaching has energized the music department at Valley City State University and the story is one worth sharing.