At community colleges and open-enrollment universities, most first-year students take placement exams in English and mathematics to determine whether they are ready for college-level courses. But large-scale studies have indicated that these test scores misplace substantial numbers of students--in other words, for many students, the test score…

This article describes Open University Malaysia's efforts at enhancing the blended learning approach for undergraduate distance learners with the successful implementation of the Mobile Learning via SMS initiative. The pilot project was implemented in the May 2009 semester, and this coming January 2011 semester will be in its sixth consecutive…

In Japan, environmental education partnerships among citizens, businesses and local government increased since new legislation was introduced in 2003, but there was little evidence of cross-sector collaboration until recently. Nagoya Open University of the Environment is a highly innovative, multi-sectoral citizen learning system founded in 2005…

Describes the establishment of the Bangladesh Open University (BOU), a university offering tertiary level qualifications and non-formal and secondary-school equivalency programs. Examines academic programs, program development, target population, delivery media (print, radio, audio, human contact), credibility, and sustainability. Argues that BOU…

Through further implementation of distance education, Chinese Taipei may both continue and increase its economic development. The benefits of lifelong learning have been demonstrated in the past 30 years by the economic growth and labor force skills development in Chinese Taipei. The founding of the National Open University, in 1986, with its…

This 10-section report on the activities of the Open University of the United Kingdom as an innovative institution with a concern for democratization of higher education begins with a discussion of the criteria for an innovative organization. The origins of the University and the intentions of its early planners are then discussed, followed by a…

Distance Learning Providers serve large populations of learners, frequently offering the same course to different groups of learners over lengthy periods of time. This article argues that (re-) running e-learning courses with different combinations of learners and staff requires a distinction between abstract representations of courses and…

Begun as an experimental channel of the European Institute for the Media within the DELTA research program of the European Community, Channel e is Europe's first educational, training, and informative programming service. Programs are broadcast by communications satellite to a potential mass audience of 320 million people. Designed for use on the…

The challenges to teacher educators in sub-Saharan Africa are acute. This paper describes how the Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) consortium is working within institutional and national policy systems to support school-based teacher professional development. The TESSA consortium (13 African institutions and 5 international…

Correspondence institutions in United Kingdom and South Africa have enrolled Mauritian students in various courses and programs at different levels for more than 50 years. The institutionalization of second-generation distance education (DE) using print and audiovisual media had modest beginnings with the inception of the Mauritius College of the…

Hong Kong's economic fortunes have always depended on trade with China. By the mid-1980s, the colonial higher education system was catering to only 6% of the 18-20 age cohort and there was a backlog of adult learners who had been denied access. The Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong was launched in 1989 to overwhelming public response. It…

Research on distance education in Mexico is still in the embryonic stage, in spite of its long history. One indication is that among the lines of research defined by the Mexican Council on Educational Research, the leading organization in the field in Mexico, distance education does not even appear. Only recently, in the last few years, has an…

This journal consists of eight articles dealing with self-help and community education. Included in the volume are the following articles: "An Uphill Struggle--Self-Help in Bangladesh," by S. Harrison and Judy Saul; "How Not to Help a Local Community: A Case from South India," by Nora Sammut and Maria Theresa; "The High…

This article addresses the historical context, current development, and future challenges of distance education in Indonesia. Conditions related to the geography, demography, socio-economic and cultural situations, as well as the availability of technology have encouraged the use of distance education as a valid choice in providing access to…