The primary objective of this research is to ascertain the manner in which higher education institutions offering open and distance education incorporate the concept of openness into their vision, mission, core values, and tactics. This study employs a descriptive research design to ascertain the current state of affairs. The research methodology…

The objective of this paper is to contribute to our understanding of 'crisis' in higher education through the analysis of a unique series of events involving a decisive change in the relationship between a university and the state. A descriptive case study approach is used to investigate the crisis in governance at Athabasca University, an open…

This bibliometric study investigates the evolution and trends in quality assurance in distance higher education (QADHE) through a comprehensive analysis of Scopus-indexed publications spanning from 1993 to 2024. The research aims to address several critical aspects, including publication trends, international collaboration networks, influential…

This article tackles a critical question:'to what extent can online higher education (HE) be open and innovative at the same time?' To provide a more comprehensive answer to the question, the author takes up a notion of discourse and situates the analysis in a specific online HE setting: Athabasca University (AU), Canada. In this article, the…

Partnerships are central to the awareness, implementation and development of open and distance learning (ODL). It is an attribute that is distinct in the higher education sector, where ODL has made a large footprint by dispelling the notion that university enrolment is reserved for a narrow and elite demographic. The Commonwealth of Learning (COL)…

Nursing has employed distance education for decades. In the 21st century, distance programs have often been delivered online. This became even more prevalent since the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the preponderance of online nursing courses, the delivery of courses virtually does not necessarily mean that these offerings are intentionally developed…

Driven by competition amongst higher education institutions, increasing recognition of the benefits of international academic mobility, and the global pandemic, transnational distance education has accelerated in recent years. Despite its many advantages, quality assurance issues can pose significant obstacles to success. Using a collaborative…

This report provides an overview of the nature of open universities derived from the responses from 28 open universities in the Commonwealth. The data not only provide a snapshot of the nature of OUs, but also show some evidence of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on open universities where institutions had to move all their learning and…

The adoption of open, online, flexible and technology-enhanced modes of learning (in short: of OOFAT) differs by higher education institution, despite the general cries of revolution and disruption due to digitalisation. This paper presents a new conceptual model for framing difference in three key educational processes (content, delivery and…

This article reports eight distance teachers' stories about teaching at two open universities over the past two decades with a focus on their perceptions and feelings about the changes in their teaching practice. This qualitative study employed a methodological approach called the autoethnographic interview, aiming to document more realistic…

In the absence of comparative data about open universities, the current impact of ODL institutions is not clear. To develop a database of open universities in the Commonwealth, COL initiated a survey. The present report is based on the responses of 27 open universities that responded to our questionnaire.

This book describes the history, structure and institutions of open and distance education in six countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, the UK and the US. It discusses how open and distance education is evolving in a digital age to reflect the needs and circumstances of national higher education systems in these countries, and explores…

Higher education institutions face a number of opportunities and challenges as the result of the digital revolution. The institutions perform a number of scholarship functions which can be affected by new technologies, and the desire is to retain these functions where appropriate, whilst the form they take may change. Much of the reaction to…

The academic program life cycle (APLC) concept states each program's life flows through several stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. A mixed-influence diffusion growth model is fitted to annual enrollment data on academic programs to analyze the factors determining progress of academic programs through their life cycles. The…

There is a perfect storm brewing in post-secondary education (PSE) in Ontario. Four major forces are combining in this storm, an ever growing higher education participation rate, the growing demand for effective and timely knowledge delivery, the need to drastically alter how one views teaching and learning, and accelerated technological changes.…