Higher education, and more specifically, distance education, is in the midst of a rapidly changing environment. Higher education institutions increasingly rely on the harvesting and analyses of student data to inform key strategic decisions across a wide range of issues, including marketing, enrolment, curriculum development, the appointment of…

The original authors address several concerns expressed in four responses to their article: terminology; the need for expert and intensive pedagogy (including early intensive language training); pessimistic attitudes; the need for caution in setting total habilitation as a goal; and a research model. (KM)

Intervention advances in mental retardation have enabled some individuals to function as independent, nonretarded persons. Establishing total habilitation (a term needed to describe this outcome) as a major goal of intervention will promote research and the development of an intervention continuum that includes prevention, total habilitation, and…

Views on the curability of mental retardation are reviewed. The implication of the view of Drash et al., that current technology makes total habilitation possible for many people, is refuted. Efforts should continue in replication research, follow-up, etc. Setting a goal of total habilitation for an individual should be exercised cautiously. (KM)