Penn State Online Governance

Penn State Online is based on the principle of shared governance, coordinating across both administrative and academic unit resources in order to develop a streamlined administrative approach to ensure a highly integrated, yet flexible, environment to advance Penn State's strategic online initiatives.

A variety of units are brought together into a leadership community that encourages the collaboration and innovation needed to prepare Penn State to achieve the long-term vision for e-learning.  Each participating unit continues to be responsible for its own work, but coordinates with other units to achieve the above goals.

Penn State Online is governed through several groups, including the Penn State Online Steering Committee, the Coordinating Council, and the e-Learning Advocates.

The Penn State Online Steering Committee stands as the University’s e-learning governing board. The Steering Committee is co-chaired by Dr. Craig Weidemann, Vice-President for Outreach, and Dr. Robert Pangborn, Vice-President for Undergraduate Education. 

The Penn State Online Coordinating Council is a University-wide leadership community that takes an active leadership role in stimulating collaboration and cooperation, developing shared standards, and encouraging innovation under the general guidance of the Steering Committee. The Coordinating Council is co-chaired by Dr. Yvonne Gaudelius, Assistant Vice-President and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, and Dr. Wayne Smutz, Associate Vice-President for Academic Outreach and Executive Director for Continuing and Distance Education.

The structure of the Penn State Online Initiative is displayed in the following image.