The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education
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Email: info@obhe.ac.uk
Key Resource, November 2004
The following is an introduction to selected regional and international distance learning associations. A brief overview of regional developments in distance learning is provided, including a list of the major initiatives and key organisations involved. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but rather serves as an overview of the organisations particularly active in this area. General details of each organisation are provided, including publications and other information made available free of charge online. Those associations without a web-site are also listed, along with their contact details.
An increasing number of countries are forging collaborative links in an attempt to enhance regional cooperation in open and distance learning. Many of these organisations work in partnership with their constituent national bodies, and receive funding from international distance learning associations (see below).
Until recently in Africa, distance learning was predominantly used to upgrade the quality of basic education by training teachers in primary and secondary schools, but it is increasingly becoming a means of delivering post-secondary education. Correspondence courses supported by print self-study media have been the most common method of distance instruction, but recent years have seen distance learning associations explore the use of ICT and telematics in their provision. Additionally, there is a growing willingness of African institutions and organisations to co-operate in distance education activities on regional or sub-regional levels. An example is the Teleteaching System for Universities Project (Telesun), which connects the engineering programmes in Cameroon and Tunisia to universities in France and Belgium. The FORST program links universities in five Francophone African countries to McGill University (Canada) and Université de Lille (France). Funded by the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), the RESAFAD program (Le Reseau Africain de Formation a Distance) provides teacher training from French universities in eight French-speaking countries. STAMP 2000+, the Science, Technology and Mathematics (STM) Programme, is a five-year project designed to train upper primary and junior secondary teachers in six Southern African countries. The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and Commonwealth of Learning (COL) are particularly active in developing African distance education initiatives.
The Distance Education Association of Southern Africa (DEASA)
Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland
The West African Distance Education Association (WADEA) (no website provided)
c/o Institute of Adult Education, University of Ghana P.O. Box 31 Accra, Ghana Email: iae.ad@ug.gn.apc.org
Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal
Open Learning and Distance Education Association of Eastern Africa (OLDEA-EA) (no website or address provided)
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda
In the past decade, the Americas have seen a proliferation of regional distance learning initiatives, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean region. In Latin America, national organisations have collaborated to create, share and disseminate course content in Spanish and Portuguese. The Caribbean has a long tradition of delivering off-campus education via the facilities of the University of the West Indies, and is striving to strengthen local economies by enhancing the mobility of workers amongst the island states. Distance learning initiatives appear to have mainly developed on a national level in the United States and Canada, although the two countries have been actively involved in promoting regional initiatives in developing countries.
Established in 1980, AIESAD is a non-profit organisation comprising 42 higher education institutions in Europe and Latin America. The website is in Spanish, and lists institutional contact details from over twenty-two countries. No course information is provided.
Consorcio Red de Educacion a Distancia (CREAD), or Inter-American Distance Education Consortium
CREAD was founded in 1990 at the International Council for Distance Education World Conference in Caracas, Venezuela. The Consortium promotes collaborative links in distance education between over 100 higher education institutions in twenty-two countries in Latin America, North America and Europe. Information on the website is available in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish, and lists member institutions with website details and short descriptions.
Caribbean Association for Distance and Open Learning (CARADOL)
Founded in 2004, CARADOL advocates the use of distance and open learning in furthering regional development goals and provides opportunities for information sharing and professional development among its membership. The organisation's establishment was fostered by the UNESCO/University of the West Indies' Caribbean Universities Project for Integrated Distance Education (CUPIDE), an initiative aimed at improving access to five universities in the region through the use of ICT.
The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA)
University of the West Indies (UWI) Distance and Open Learning Programme
University of the West Indies is a public university co-sponsored by the governments of several Caribbean countries, and does not fall under the jurisdiction of any single national system. There are major campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago and branch centres in twelve other nations and territories.
Since the establishment of the European Union, EU member states have moved towards co-ordinating and unifying educational policies on a multinational level. In 1999, nine of the main distance learning organisations in Europe signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment and functioning of the European Open and Distance Learning Liaison Committee". According to the Memorandum, "the aim of the Committee is to facilitate the engineering of Europe-wide projects, … to give recommendations to the European Commission and Member States and assist in defining and implementing action plans and programmes in order to enhance the integration of ICT in learning". Since the establishment, there has been a beneficial consultation between the European Commission services and the Liaison Committee, and the policy paper entitled "A Framework for European Commission Programme Funding" was released in 2002 to outline Europe’s main ODL policies. Refer to the Liaison Committee’s website for further details.
European Association for Distance Learning (EADL)
Formerly the Association of European Correspondence Schools (AECS), EADL is a non-governmental educational association established in 1991 following the first pan-European conference on distance education. Nearly all member states of the European Community are represented in the EADL, but also has member institutions in Iceland, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and Turkey. The website provides links to publications, course information and related resources.
European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU)
Established in 1987, EADTU is comprised of 20 member institutions from 19 countries collectively providing distance education programmes to over 900,000 students. All members of the association are non-profit institutions. The website offers a wide range of related links.
European Distance and E-Learning Network (EDEN)
Founded in 1990, EDEN is a non-governmental educational association designed to foster developments in distance education through collaboration between its 125+ member institutions worldwide (mainly in Europe). A wide range of studies, publications and resources are available free of charge on the website.
Regional collaboration in distance education appears to be less common amongst Asian countries. Although a large number of Asian countries have well-developed ICT facilities, distance learning capacity has generally been developed on a national level without much outside assistance. This could be in part due to the wide linguistic disparities in the region, although collaborative links have been on the increase in recent years. Asian Association of Open Universities has assumed a prominent role in promoting developments this area. Australia and New Zealand have forged collaborative links in flexible learning through the Australasian Council on Open, Distance and E-learning (ACODE). The University of the Pacific has been a key provider of off-campus tertiary education in the Pacific Islands, and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) has launched the Pacific Islands Regional Association for Distance Education (PIRADE) to encourage partnerships among institutions in the region.
Asian Association of Open University (AAOU)
Founded in 1987, the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) comprises nearly fifty open universities in the Asian region. Based in Hong Kong SAR (China), it provides website links for member institutions representing over 21 countries worldwide. No course information is provided.
The Open and Distance learning Association of Australia Inc. (ODLAA)
The ODLAA aims to advance the practice and study of distance education in Australia, foster communication between distance educators, and maintain and extend links with other national and international associations with related aims and objectives.
Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation Regional Open Learning Center (SEAMOLEC)
Founded in 1997 by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), SEAMOLEC was designed to assist its member countries in addressing the capacity problem in higher education and finding alternative solutions for sustainable human resources development through open and distance learning.
Australasian Council on Open, Distance and E-learning (ACODE)
Formerly the National Council on Open and Distance Education (NCODE)-Flexible Learning Australia, ACODE was founded in 1996 to enhance policy and practice in open, distance, flexible learning in Australasian higher education. The website has links to publications, reports and other useful distance learning resources.
A number of international organisations have been formed to assist developing countries in establishing distance education initiatives and in facilitating regional cooperation. Major activities include implementing ICT staff training programmes; supporting professional development and providing networking opportunities; investigating, developing and evaluating new policy approaches; bolstering institutional ICT infrastructure.
Consortium International Francophone de Formation a Distance (CIFFAD) (no website provided)
École International de Bordeaux 15-16 Quai Louis XVIII 33000 Bordeaux France Email: zihindula_MUTABESHA@francophonie.org
Established in 1987, CIFFID is a France-based non-profit organisation aimed at enhancing distance education in the French-speaking world, particularly in Francophone Africa. Its major projects include funding the establishment of “telematic” centres in francophone developing countries and administering the RESAFAD program which provides teacher training from French universities in eight French-speaking countries.
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
Fully operational since 1989, COL is an intergovernmental organisation created by Commonwealth Heads of Government to encourage the development and sharing of open learning/distance education knowledge, resources and technologies. According to its website, COL is the world’s only intergovernmental organisation dedicated solely to promoting and delivering distance education, particularly in the developing world. A wide range of studies, reports and research are available for download, free-of-charge, on this web site.
International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE)
Established in 1938, ICDE is the global membership organisation of educational institutions, national and regional associations, corporations, educational authorities and agencies in the field of open and distance learning. The main mission is to provide leadership and facilitate cooperation, development and communication at the global level. The website provides information about the council's news activities and projects, as well as a detailed description of its aims and objectives.
The International Centre for Distance Learning
ICDL is based at the Open University in the UK and is recognised for research, teaching, consultancy, information and publishing activities. The Centre's literature database contains bibliographic information on books, journal articles, research reports, conference papers and dissertations that relate to the theory and practice of distance education.
The South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE)
