As enrollments decline, many institutions rush to implement distance education programs, often with only crude or solely administrative guidelines for program development. The following seven principles of good practice can be useful to guide initial program development: (1) programs should have purpose, direction, leadership, and clearly identified target audiences; (2) course objectives should be clearly defined and comparable to those for traditional classes; (3) faculty participation and leadership should be encouraged; (4) administrator and faculty roles should be clearly delineated; (5) faculty should be experts in the discipline content, as well as in the technologies available to support instruction; (6) choices regarding technologies should be based on content matter, learning objectives, and availability to students; and (7) students should be provided with information regarding the nature of distance learning and skills required for success. Once the program has been designed, the following low and high tech solutions should be considered in implementing the program: telephone and voice mail systems to support instruction; fax, "fax on demand," and, time permitting, paper mail systems to disseminate assignments and receive completed work; electronic bulletin board systems with electronic mail and asynchronistic discussion forums to permit group work; computer software and audio tapes to provide instruction; and local cable channels to air locally produced video. (BCY)