The Virginia Tech Institute for Distance and Distributed Learning (IDDL) Enterprise Fund was created two years ago to support the university’s distance education efforts and assist the university in growing a bigger revenue pie. By Virginia state legislation, only Internet-based courses qualify for the fund, and only degree, certificate, licensure and re-certification programs qualify.

The fund is designed to recover costs associated with the aforementioned, such as faculty salaries and IDDL overhead costs. Remaining revenues are to be distributed as follows: 33 percent to college/department for program growth incentive, start-up loan repayment (for programs that obtained development loans to initiate a program) and for instructional enhancement; 33 percent to IDDL to provide increased levels of support; 33 percent to a Provost/IDDL Development Pool to create an IDDL grant pool for online education development/enhancement grants.

According to IDDL Director Tom Wilkinson, the Enterprise Fund "was a little slow going at first. We are trying to change 200 years of how business was typically done at the university, but we are now in the second year, and it is very promising."