This article is a descriptive overview of one aspect of the history of Quebec's Tele-universite (TU). This case is used to unveil the inter-organizational and political tensions which may accompany the somewhat difficult development of a distance education model. Teleuniversite was created in 1972 as an experimental project by the Universite du Quebec (UQ), and it got its letters of incorporation 20 years later. It is the largest distance education institution in the province of Quebec, with 25,000 students--a full load equivalent of 2,800 students--and 400 staff, including 50 professors. The recent history of UQ's Tele-universite can be divided in six periods: (1) 1972-1974: the first years; (2) 1974-1981: the autonomous way; (3) 1981-1985: opening up to the UQ's network of universities; (4) 1985-1988: institutionalization: an unfinished business; (5) 1988-1992: the governmental recognition; and (6) 1992-2004: new problems, new directions. In order to shed light on the problems TU has encountered, each period will be discussed and conclusions will be summarized.