In 1994, the State of Utah published a request for proposals (Higher Education Technology Initiative or HETI RFP) asking for research that would apply new technologies toward reducing the growing demands on the State's educational infrastructures. In response to this RFP, Utah State University's English department proposed an examination of the possibilities of placing some or all of the department's first-year English courses online.

The original HETI proposal made several claims:

1. Classroom over-crowding would be substantially alleviated.
2. The expense of teaching basic writing skills would be reduced.
3. Writing skills acquisition would be substantially enhanced.
4. Concurrent, high school-university enrollment would be encouraged.
5. Inconsistencies between teaching standards would be reduced.
6. University classes would become more geographically and democratically available.

The proposal was funded for $300,000, and in 1995 Utah State University combined forces with Salt Lake Community College and Southern Utah University to create English 101 online.

(See 1995 HETI Proposal).

In 1996, Utah State received additional funding from the Utah State Higher Education grant (USHE) to improve our computer facilities for better delivery of the English 101 online courses.

Now, five years later, we regularly offer Internet-based sections of composition courses every term. In addition, we offer a graduate technical writing program, a linguistics program, and are constructing a graduate-level theory and practice of writing (rhetoric) program, all offered entirely online over the Internet. We offer these courses through the English Department as well as through Continuing Education and Concurrent Enrollment across the state.

In this article, we will not only review the results reported in the 1997 HETI report document , but will also describe the five-year journey of discovery and describe the lessons we have learned about this new teaching and learning environment.

(See 1997 HETI Report)