Who's Doing What? Three Perspectives in Online Graduate Technical Communication Programs

Distance delivery of technical communication programs has been steadily growing in the past decade. At last count, over 22 U.S. colleges and universities now offer courses and undergraduate/graduate degrees in technical communication via some form of distance delivery [C. Cook et al., 2005]. Each of these colleges and universities has responded to the challenges of delivering online education differently. In this paper, the authors will discuss how three institutions, Mercer University, NJ Institute of Technology, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, have created and sustained successful online graduate technical communication programs using a variety of strategies to meet the needs of their students and the missions of their institutions.