ABSTRACT
With the experiences at Tufts and the University of Southern Indiana as a backdrop, this chapter explores the leadership needed to advance online education regardless of the starting point or the specific institutional circumstances. It investigates the need for leadership, strategic thinking and communicating strategically. The challenge in planning from the middle is to convincingly communicate the need for the plans to other stakeholders including the senior administration in order to obtain the needed authorizations, resources and to get buy–in from other stakeholders whose activities may need to be coordinated to achieve specific outcomes. The chapter describes communication vehicles and approaches that can be utilized to help build support for online education and encourage faculty engagement. Cultivating faculty support for online education is an ongoing challenge and responsibility for the leadership of online educational programs. It concludes with an assessment of the potential for planning strategically from the middle of the organization for online education.
