Staff provides this baseline report as a summary of its preliminary considerations and initial research in fulfillment of the requirements of HB2320 from the 2015 session of the General Assembly. Codified as § 23-7.4:7, this legislation compels the Education Secretary and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) Director, in consultation with the public and private two- and four-year institutions, to: "develop a plan to establish and advertise a cooperative degree program whereby any undergraduate student enrolled at any two-year or four-year public or private, non-profit institution of higher education in the Commonwealth may complete, through the use of online courses at any such institution, the course credit requirements to receive a degree at a tuition cost not to exceed $4,000, or such cost that is achievable, per academic year." The legislation requires a report of plan-development progress by October 1, 2016. Through this introductory document, SCHEV staff seeks to: (a) inform Council of the legislation and early work to fulfill it; (b) provide reference data of relevance to the work of the new Joint Subcommittee on the Future Competitiveness of Virginia Higher Education, particularly in its evaluation of the use of distance education and online instruction; and (c) complement efforts of George Mason University to satisfy, in consultation with other institutions, state-budget language that requires development of a plan for a comprehensive online, adult-degree-completion program by September 1, 2015. Increasingly, colleges and universities deliver instruction in part or in whole via technology, ranging from incorporation of electronic content into traditional classroom-based courses to entirely online institutions of higher education. This analysis focuses on online courses and degree programs that allow undergraduate students to complete all degree-credit requirements without in-person attendance at physical campuses. By virtue of the delivery method, students taking online courses and programs can be located anywhere in the state or elsewhere. A chart of Online Bachelor-degree Programs Offered by Public Four-year Institutions is appended.