Describes Pakistan's Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), which reaches a mass student population through correspondence study, radio and television, tutorials, and course assignments. Descriptions of AIOU's course offerings, teaching methods, organization and administration, and an assessment of services are provided. (Contains 13 references.)…

Analyzes the historical development of the six City University of New York (CUNY) community colleges. Reports that, as nontraditional institutions noted for their responsiveness to student needs, they face an uncertain future as a result of current contention over their open admissions policy and their roles as urban public universities. Contains…

Focuses on quality assurance in open and distance education. Discusses making use of new technologies in ways besides the simple transfer of content; establishing systems of quality assurance and control tailored to universities' needs; four broad principles for developing distance education policies and procedures; and managing change. (AEF)

The intent of this study was to investigate how to maximize the chances of success of an educational innovation--specifically one based on the implementation of the educational modeling language called EML. This language is both technically and organizationally demanding. Two different implementation cases were investigated, one situated in an…

This paper describes how information and communication technology (ICT) is used in the modular Open University course "T209 Information and Communication Technologies: People and Interactions", first presented in 2002. In this course ICT is used to provide students with practical experience and to support an active and collaborative approach to…

This study discusses benchmarking the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in teaching and learning between two universities with different missions: one an Australian campus-based metropolitan university and the other a British distance-education provider. It argues that the differences notwithstanding, it is possible to…

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…

Factors related to students' selection of Internet-assisted vs. traditional distance learning environments (IDL vs. TDL) at the Open University of Israel were investigated. The two groups differed in their demographic variables, academic achievements and value priorities. The IDL group had a higher percentage of males, and a different age…

This paper presents a report on students who decided to drop out of the BSc program offered by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). This study was designed to determine the reasons leading to students' decisions to withdraw from the program. Identified and reported in this study are nine major reasons leading to drop out. Results of…

This paper discusses the higher education sector's role in a knowledge-based economy though research training, that is, doctoral education. It also examines how a Faculty of Education supports its doctoral candidates in their endeavours to become "knowledge producers". Two themes are explored: one is Australia's limited investment in…

This research focused on the undergraduate learners' perceptions of blended learning at the Arab Open University--Bahrain Branch (AOU-BH). It also focused on factors that influence learners' perceptions and examined the relationships between learners' perceptions and their particular demographic characteristics (age, gender, educational level,…

This study sought to evaluate the goals and functions of practical tests designed for students in the natural sciences at the Open University of the Netherlands (OuN). Twelve OuN faculty were asked to rate the importance of 8 general learning objectives, 64 specific learning objectives, and 38 end-terms for undergraduate practicals in the natural…

This bulletin is an update of Britain's Further Education Unit (FEU) activities associated with the continuing development of a post-16 national credit and accumulation transfer (CAT) framework proposed in February 1992. It begins with a summary of feedback from the field: the central proposition--the need for a post-16 CAT system--was…

The paper takes a critical view of current approaches to training administrators or managers in education in the United Kingdom. Criticisms focus mainly around the hands-on approach whereby the trainee learns the best techniques from colleagues and dismisses most academic studies of management practices. The paper summarizes the thinking behind a…

A 1993 study examined the range of opportunities that Open College Network (OCN) accreditation offered to learners with learning difficulties and disabilities in Great Britain. It examined OCN quality processes, including recognition panels, moderation, and internal quality systems. Information was gathered from the National Open College Network,…