At the end of 1986 a survey of 1,200 new and 1,200 continuing undergraduate students of the Open University (Great Britain) was undertaken which addressed the related issues of costs of studying and access to television and video equipment for study purposes. The overall response rate was 75.4% when the data were analyzed in March 1987. Analyses…

Any advice and guidance offered to students about to embark on tertiary level distance education courses should help them to address problems that are not only practical and organizational, but also educational and intellectual. Students need to consider the suitability of distance education for their needs and circumstances as well as the…

Asserting that the traditional system of higher education is not capable of meeting the ever-increasing demands of a developing country such as India, this paper suggests possible alternative methods of higher education. In addition to in-depth descriptions of the United Kingdom's Open University at Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, and the Regional…

Co-production occurs when two or more institutions contribute funds and labor to many of the processes of making course components for distance teaching. This paper summarizes reasons for international co-production of multimedia distance teaching courses and provides a lengthy checklist of questions that should be considered before entering upon…

A model is presented for response to evaluating instruction in a university based on the teaching-at-a-distance concept. Technically appropriate and operationally viable, this model is applied to the National Open University of Venezuela (UNA). The model is based on two principles of educational evaluation: (1) the concept of evaluation as a…

An induction program set up by the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University (England) in 1977 for new members of the technology faculty is described and evaluated. Two principles were followed in the program: (1) documentation should be carefully selected so as not to overload the participants; and activity-based experiences are…

The Open University is playing a significant part in "compensatory" education by providing degree-level courses for large numbers of adults who for one reason or another did not go on to degree-level education after leaving school. It has attracted a large number of students from working-class backgrounds. (Author/LBH)

This examination of educational institutions and their acceptance of the design and implementation of technologically based instruction considers instructional technology as a subset of technology. Methods of institutional analysis from other disciplines are presented to stimulate research that uses aspects of educational institutions themselves…

Describes design and production of the award-winning software used to control Great Britain's Open University Materials Science videodisc, the Teddy Bear Disc, which is used to teach undergraduate students about materials engineering. The disc is designed for use in one-week sessions, which students attend in July or August. (MBR)

This profile of an open university library system in Pakistan covers its primary objective; functional organization; library collection and collection development; staffing, budgets and expenditures; library services (users, technical, reference); departmental libraries (on-campus branch, regional); and the library building. A list of 16 library…

An examination of the need for academic advising and tutoring for upper division students of the Open University in Scotland reveals a gap between institutional recommendations and the actual use and perception of the services. Clearer guidance is recommended for tutor-counselors, and questions are posed about service needs for further…

The situation of the part-time tutor at the Open University is examined by a staff member. Consideration is given to the sense of isolation, the part-timer's general role in the university and limitations enforced by that role, and the contribution part-timers could make to course maintenance and planning. (LBH)

An article taken from a state-of-the-art paper given at the UNESCO/UNDP International Workshop on Environmental Education at Belgrade in October 1975. Topics include the media as environmental educators, environmental action, university-related courses, problems and opportunities, and recommendations for action. (JT)

Using British research related to the Open University's Postgraduate Certificate in Education (OU PGCE), a preservice teacher education program, this paper considers how open and distance learning (ODL) programs are evolving quality assurance systems and procedures across a range of elements, including student teacher assessment. The paper…

Studies the use of audiovisual media (radio, television, and audio-cassettes) in a technology course at the Open University in Great Britain. Results show that each type of media lends itself to a particular teaching function in distance education. (Author/JJD)