Many community colleges face difficult challenges these days such as declining enrollment, increased competition, state mandates, and reduced government funding. Yet, online education remains an area of growth for many community colleges. The unique characteristics and organizational culture of community colleges makes them well-suited for online education. As leaders in community colleges contemplate how to increase overall student enrollment, many have considered the implementation of new online degree programs. However, as community colleges expand their online programs, it becomes important to critically evaluate how new online degree programs are implemented. Factors to consider include leadership, organizational culture, organizational structure, strategic planning and faculty support that may influence online program implementations. This study explored how new online degree programs have been implemented within community colleges, clarified the roles and responsibilities of those involved, and examined factors either supporting or hindering the implementation. The study was guided by a conceptual framework that assimilated established change theories (DoI, Ely's Conditions of Change), business models (STAR™, New Product Development Process) and literature to examine the online program implementation process. A qualitative multiple case study research design was utilized to collect data from six participants at three community college campuses. Data from semi-structured interviews, websites and document review revealed that community colleges encourage growth in online programs, but do not "methodically" plan and manage online program implementations. Despite these challenges, community colleges have implemented online degree programs if champions were persistent, faculty were motivated, and the college provided support. Yet, several factors were perceived as hindering the implementation. Thus there is an opportunity to improve the implementation process. Findings demonstrated several implications for online education in the professional context and online education for community colleges overall which will be used to guide the improvement of online program implementations for the future. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]