Distance Education

Some of the most noticeable collaborative successes have been achieved by distance education institutions or institutions with substantial distance education programmes. In such institutions, the economic pressures to collaborate are bolstered by the mandate that is at least implied for all of them, namely to improve access to educational opportunities. Collaborative ventures strengthen their ability to achieve this goal and at the same time provide them with the legitimacy, both in the eyes of government and of fellow institutions, that many of them still seek. Moreover, the techniques and approaches familar to distance educators lend themselves well to co-operative projects. Distance education institutions typically share a commitment to improving educational access and, in consequence, have often led the way in encouraging portability of credit. By separating course development from teaching, and by developing packages of learning materials, courses are made readily transportable across time and space.

More interesting, and perhaps more important, is the growing international collaboration among distance education institutions or institutions with major distance programmes. These shared endeavours, funded through commercial arrangements or by overseas aid donors, reinforce the view that collaboration among distance education institutions is increasingly a significant component of their activities, perhaps even a criterion of legitimacy in the distance education field. Even though little evaluative literature has been produced to this point, it is appropriate to mention some of these undertakings here. At the low-risk end of such activities there have been numerous instances of consultancy projects linking individuals and institutions of different nations. The work in the 1970s at the UKOU's Centre for International Cooperation and Services, and the activities of the International Extension College , are cases in point. Though of incalculable value in themselves, such links typically involve a relatively straightforward transfer of knowledge, skills, or materials, thus avoiding the fraught issues of institutional intermeshing in more elaborate ventures.

Bilateral projects multiplied in the 1980s, spurred by changing international political climates (see Timmers 1988 for examples). Some are semi-commercial arrangements, enabling the courses of one institution to be taught by, or in conjunction with, an institution in a second country. Such examples have become common in Asia as western countries have seen opportunities for financial gain as well as genuine improvements in educational acccess. The danger here is always that the former will drive the latter. Although bilateral activity is not confined to 'north/south' relationships, some aid agencies have recognized the potential impact of distance education on economic and social affairs in developing countries.

The major agency of international collaboration in distance education is, of course, the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), established by the Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1988 and based in Vancouver, British Columbia. COL 's brief is bold and wide-ranging. It incorporates sharing, exchanging, and jointly developing learning materials; facilitating international credit transfers; and strengthening national capacities in distance education through staff training, improved communications, and collaboration in research and evaluation. The politics of such a venture are intricate and the practical problems enormous: it is premature to evaluate COL 's impact on Commonwealth distance education institutions. Nevertheless, COL 's creation, and the establishment of regional collectives such as the European Distance Education Network, coupled with today's ease of global communication, indicate that such international collaborative mechanisms will soon play a major role in distance education.