The Moscow University of Economics (MESI) was the first university in Russia to become involved in distance education. MESI proposed that an experiment be conducted in Russia in the field of distance education to evaluate its potential. This article discusses the answers that were obtained to a number of the questions that were posed. The…

This paper discusses research and development work currently being conducted with universities in Bhutan and Nepal to design appropriate systems for distance and distributed learning courses among a network of campus sites. Although working from a high level of awareness of pedagogic skills, staff in the region face two significant impediments in…

Discussion of student support in open and distance learning systems focuses on a framework for the development of a planning tool for student support services. Considers student characteristics; course or program demands; geographical environment; technological infrastructure; the scale of the program; and the requirements of management.…

This paper focuses on the relationship between institutional factors and the intention of undergraduate students to withdraw from or complete their distance education courses in the Arab Open University (AOU). The model was examine on a pilot sample of 127 students and then re-examined on the field study of 587 students. Mixed paradigms were…

In the 1960s and 1970s distance education was seen as a way of increasing access to education, and hence as something the state should fund. Libertarian thinking has weakened support for the nation-state as a provider of social welfare. This article argues that libertarian policies are "vicious" in their effects. By subscribing to such…

This paper examined the nature of open and distance learning institutions as organizations where synergy of efforts of all personnel is required in order to achieve the aims and objectives of the institution. It explored the huge infrastructural and personnel requirements of distance learning institutions, especially at inception, and the…

This article provides a case study of the development of the Open Learning Systems Education Trust's "English in Action" program in South Africa from 1993 to the end of 2004. It describes the program's development from a model focused on enhancing learner involvement and learner gains to a model of distance education and open learning…

Discusses the history of distance education and provides historical background on the development of the Open Learning Institute in British Columbia. Topics addressed include the environment of British Columbia; expansion of higher education; political influences; and educational influences, including the role of Simon Fraser University. (Contains…

This article is concerned with the provision of open and distance learning by the higher education sectors in two countries, the UK and Finland. The central contention is that more strategic thought must be given to this issue if the potential benefits of such learning are to be maximized. The article considers in detail institutional practice in…

Distance education has a history of over four decades in India. There has been a vast growth in the number of learners who need education and thus also the corresponding channels of providing education. Due to the constraints of the traditional educational sector, open and distance learning has been found to be a workable alternative strategy in…

Those responsible for coordinating flexible and open learning in colleges should consider whether the time may be right to seek common ground on the issues and principles shared by the many related initiatives in Great Britain during the last two decades. Two principles that are important to flexible learning are that education's effectiveness is…

Improved learning opportunities allow increased access to education by prisoners, giving inmates more responsibility for their learning. A regional, coordinated approach, use of telecommunications for information dissemination, and a policy decision for a national framework support open learning. (Author/LAM)

This paper uses the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Management in the 1990s Research Framework as a basis for examining the challenges of managing information technology in higher education, with particular reference to open and distance education. Budgeting, technology trends, centralization, prototyping, staff, and competition versus…

The third in a series defining the field of distance education and its related concepts, this article focuses on flexible education, a term closely associated with open education. Discussion includes flexibility, autonomy and learner control; individualizing instruction; and management of instruction and instructional management software. (AEF)

Open and distance education has integrated quality assurance processes since its inception. Recently, the increased use of distance teaching systems, technologies, and pedagogies by universities without a distance education heritage has enabled them to provide flexible learning opportunities. They have done this in addition to, or instead of,…