History and Issues of Distance Learning

Abstract

INTRODUCTION In 1993, 1.3 million students took one of more distance learning courses ... [a]nd the number ... is expected to soar to 11.6 million students by the year 2000 ... 1,218 four-year colleges and universities-about 55% of the total-offered distance learning in 1996 ... In addition, nine institutions currently offer degree programs entirely at a distance ... These include Boise State University, New York Institute of Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology, and the University of Maryland (Goldberg, 1998:4). Although distance learning may be thought of as a contemporary phenomenon in education, its domestic origin can be traced to the development of correspondence study at Pennsylvania State University in 1892. As delivery technologies have emerged, educational institutions have integrated them in the expanding use and role of distance learning. While once considered non-traditional education, distance learning is most certainly becoming mainstream and, with that new status, a whole set of issues come into play for all participants and stakeholders. This article reviews the history and development of distance learning, distance learning for public administration, issues of distance learning participants, and challenges of distance learning. EVOLUTION In the late 1800s, access to higher education in the U.S. was limited by the geographic distance between educational institutions and rural populations. In an attempt to provide learner access to remote populations, Pennsylvania State University introduced a correspondence program. In 1892, Penn State was one of the first universities to develop a program of correspondence study. The program took advantage of Rural Free Delivery--THE 19th CENTURY'S VERSION OF THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY (emphasis added)-to extend Penn State courses and agricultural knowledge to rural families (History of Distance Education, 1996) The old kind of distance education gave students access to a university, notes Gary Miller, Associate Vice President for Distance Education at Pennsylvania State University, which last year had about 19,000 students enrolled in some 250 distance courses (Goldberg, 1998:6). The goal of providing educational opportunities to individuals unable or unwilling to participate in a full-time, residency program remains a primary emphasis of distance learning. The means of delivery have developed over the years from basic printbased correspondence courses characterized by time delays and learner isolation to Web-courses that reduce time delays and may reduce learner isolation. Popularity of distance learning has been influenced by the technical capacity to deliver courses, by changing characteristics of students, by legislative and budgetary constraints, and by demand for increased access to higher education. The composition of higher education's student body has changed dramatically and is one of the factors contributing to increased interest in distance learning. Only 4.5 million of the 14.2 million students are traditional full-time students, 18 to 22 years old, and residents of campus or nearby off-campus housing (Allen, 1997). From 1972 until 1994, the percentage of college students over 25 years of age has risen from 28% to 41% (Gubernick and Ebeling, 1997). Many students desire both the time and location flexibility offered by distance learning. As state legislators and educational administrators attempt to increase access to higher education and maintain or reduce costs, distance learning has become a strategic approach to managing public resources. Distance learning can be a state legislator's dream come true by providing access to higher education without many of the capital expenditures for items such as dormitories, classrooms, faculty offices, common areas, and library shelf space associated with delivery. Cost-conscious administrators can enhance an institution's utilization of resources by creatively using a variety of distance learning delivery technologies, ranging from relatively low cost, print-based delivery to more expensive cutting edge technology. …

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 66 citations exist upstream.

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.