Academic rigor is a topic that resides at the very core of the traditional conception of the academy. At the dawn of this new millennium, the popularity of new pedagogical beliefs and instructional strategies, such as constructivism and problem-based learning, and delivery methods, such as online distance education, make it clear that it is time to review the conceptions of academic learning and to see if old definitions match the postsecondary educational practices of the new millennium. This study attempted to define what academic rigor means to the faculty members and graduate assistants who taught on-campus and online courses at a major Midwestern state university. The study sought to discover the level of importance these instructors gave to academic rigor and what strategies they used to ensure academic rigor in their courses. Finally, the researchers asked instructors about their strategies to ensure academic rigor in these two different delivery modes. (Contains 22 references.) (Author/AEF)