New Markets for Meeting Old Needs: U.S. Distance Education and Developing Countries.

Overview & Synopsis

This paper analyzes the broad context and covers practical applications for delivering distance education in countries of the developing world. It begins by examining market trends in global higher education and continues by reviewing existing distance education activity in developing countries. This is followed by a discussion of the conditions--from the pedagogical to the technological--under which United States universities can conduct international distance education in that part of the world. Finally, the report concludes with recommended strategies for engaging people and institutions on behalf of mutually beneficial distance education programs that target or include developing countries. Most strategy options share a common philosophy: be flexible, respect local ways of conducting education, seek an appropriate middle ground where fundamental differences exist, and work to ensure that the flow of learning is two-way; simply exporting the "American way" is neither sustainable nor appropriate. Ultimately, each U.S. university needs to provide its own answer as to why it would choose to engage in distance education in developing countries. A table of mega universities around the world indicating unit costs and a table showing global disparities in telecommunications and computing are appended. (Contains 10 references.) (AEF)