Embracing the Internet. DETC Occasional Paper Number 14.

Since November 1995, all programs/processes of the business school of the International Management Centres (IMC) of Buckingham, England, have been conducted through the Internet. As in other distance education programs, students join the IMC program from any country in the world. Programs are always delivered to "sets" of 8-16 people who meet, pace their studies together, and are encouraged to critique one another's assignments before they are submitted for evaluation. IMC's website functions as the following: active site for all necessary courseware and administrative procedures used at IMC; interactive destination for all associates, faculty, and graduates of IMC; linkage to the body of knowledge needed by associates to complete their studies; and news and information service. By largely replacing use of the telephone with electronic mail, IMC has reduced its operating costs considerably. Using the Internet has reduced IMC's costs of delivering courseware globally by well over 50% and has given associates the capability of "on-demand" printing. IMC's Internet program has experienced only a few minor snags: students must be computer literate, delays and blockages sometimes occur, and maintaining an up-to-date and interesting website is a labor-intensive process. (Eight sample pages from IMC's website are included.) (MN)