The activities of the Open Learning Institute (OLI) of British Columbia from its inception in the late 1970s through mid-1983 are described. It is noted that the mandate of the OLI was to make available throughout the Canadian province courses and programs to students who were unable or unwilling to take advantage of other educational…

Research studies trying to understand, predict, and control dropout from distance education display various points of view and quite a few build on one another at a conceptual level, but their findings are rarely generalizable outside the situations in which the research is conducted. Although academics claim that new work on dropout should be…

This paper discusses the different methods and levels of evaluation that have been used to evaluate the distance education programs of the Open University of Great Britain. Included in this discussion are system evaluation and course evaluation (both formative and summative), and the results of the evaluation procedures are summarized for each.…

This study investigated the efficiency of video as an additional teaching aid for a statistics course offered by the Fernuniversitat (Open University, West Germany). A total of 65 distance students and internal students from the Universities of Bochum and Dortmund were divided into five groups to test the effects of five alternative treatments:…

Although programmed instruction per se has not been used at the Open University (OU), the principles of programmed instruction have heavily influenced the development of systematic instruction and this paper describes the OU instructional development process in the context of seven principles of programmed instruction developed by Lysaught and…

Describes the pattern of student demand, progress and withdrawal over the first four years of the Open University in Great Britain. Appendix contains the problems inherent in comparing the Open University with other institutions. (Editor/PG)

The Regents External Degree is a New York State program offering a college degree to individuals, whether by earned college credit or knowledge acquired in other experience areas. The external degree and the College Proficiency Examinations are administered by the University of the State of New York, which has no campus or courses but accepts…

An Open University tutor in the arts describes the experience of conducting conference call tutorials for groups of up to eight students taking a correspondence-type course. Specific techniques are discussed: initial approach designed to make individual students at ease, ways of getting all students involved in dialogue, etc. (JT)

Reviews the historical development of adult and continuing education as provided through the Open University system of Great Britain. An interview with the librarian for Oxford's Department of External Studies examines the current status of the program and describes the library services available to participants. (8 references) (CLB)

This discussion of the propsects and possibilities of the Open University System in Nigeria highlights the Nigerian educational system, evolution and characteristics of the Open University System, rationale for establishment of the system in Nigeria, and responsibilities of the library in an open university. Footnotes are included. (EJS)

University distance education has developed in Canada on a mainly intra-provincial and occasionally regional basis. Five kinds of development are identified: correspondence programs; open universities; "outport" programs; "extension" programs; and the network. (Author/MLW)

Describes the Open University concept which is designed to provide regular college credit through a program of home study. Explains three science-related Open University courses and lists and describes the films and cassettes used. (GS)

Why do some of adult learners successfully accomplish their learning while the others drop out? This has been an important question in the field of adult learning. For a long time researchers have been exploring this subject around learning barriers as well as motivations. Not until lately did some of the adult and distance scholars start to pay…

This study examines Finnish college students' views on learning in a virtual university. Respondents studied at Helsinki Virtual Open University (HEVI) and the Apaja Internet Service from 1995-99. HEVI is a Web-based learning environment where students can study, get advice, receive help from tutors, and use office services. Apaja Internet Service…