In producing two instructional television modules on organizational communication for the basic communication theory course at Cornell University, an instructional development strategy was used that emphasized the student as a source of formative information. Drawing from the instructional development literature on formative evaluation procedures, a decision-making model was developed for low-budget instructional television projects. The slogan, "The Student as Co- Producer," was chosen for the model to reflect an emphasis on student input at every step in the development process. Students from the author’s discussion sections were used as a source of internal, external, and contextual information relevant to decision-making.