Students follow a study guide prepared for the course by a design team as well as a traditional textbook, case studies and other materials. Instructors can add or delete assignments. Some institutions are creating interactive computer aided components which can be sent to students on computer disk, CD-ROM or accessed through the campus computer network. Each week, instructors provide a lecture focusing on the week's important content which students download. Group and individual assignments are customary.
Students send homework assignments to class mailboxes.
Instructors grade the homework and can send back a marked assignment or a grade with notes. Students file a weekly summary to focus on what they have learned that is particularly relevant to them. Interaction by students may account for up to 40 percent of the grade. With the requirement for meaningful interaction, students seldom fail to participate. Once they begin to interact, it becomes a pattern for them.