In this article, we discuss the development of online courses in higher education in terms of the in- structional quality and economic costs. In our conceptual analysis, we point out problems in developing online courses with sufficient quality due to limited funds being made available for online course development. Moreover, economic costs exist in terms of student recruitment and retention. We urge higher education administrators to think through decisions more carefully than they currently do regarding online instruction. Just because everyone else is doing it does not necessary mean it is a good idea.