This presentation focuses on the intertwining elements of politics and ethics in the design and implementation of the first online MS degree program at California State University, Fullerton. The Masters of Science in Instructional Design and Technology (MSIDT) accredited by WASC, it is an online learning community in a cohort model. The program consists of ten courses offered in a 20 month program and focuses on the direct applications of technology for teaching, learning and curriculum development used by professionals in K-12, business, industry, military, or corporate settings.

The program has a unique governance structure housed in the office of the Associate Dean of Education as an interdisciplinary program with faculty from a wide range of departments who all have expertise and/or training in instructional technology, curriculum design, adult development and/or assessment and evaluation.

The overall themes that matched our experience could be summarized as misassumptions/misperceptions, inflexibility in the overall system, reshaping the bureaucracy, governance dynamics, territorial or protocol conflicts, creation of new team working principles, as well as individualism with student learner expectations.