Expectations surrounding the role of e-learning need to be tempered by an awareness of the variety of technical, institutional, social and economic constraints on the innovation process. This paper reports on a case study of the introduction into a university of one of the most central e-learning initiatives in higher education, an enterprise-wide virtual learning environment. Findings identify constraints on innovation and highlight changes likely to evolve from the diffusion of such environments, which can be amplified by interrelated technical changes underway in universities.