Summary: Systems for educating students at a distance (using various combinations of technology -- printed materials, telephone, television, computer, and other media) have become common in various countries over the past 25 years. The British Open University, one of the first and most successful of these systems, has allowed over one million students to obtain a higher education since 1970, with some 150,000 students currently enrolled; 5% of all first degrees in the UK are granted by the OU. Several dozen similar systems around the world have, when well planned and efficiently operated, increased access to higher education for many who otherwise would never have had that opportunity. But distance education is not a panacea, nor is it without costs of its own. Accumulated experience to date suggests that there are a number of factors that must be taken into account for distance education programs to succeed.

• Distance education (DE) is different: While some extremely motivated students can learn in almost any circumstances from almost any materials, the most successful experiences with DE have come when (1) courses are carefully planned, (2) instructors (and students) are prepared for the way the course will be offered, (3) materials are well designed and made available on time, and (4) a system for course evaluation and improvement is put in place.

• Student motivation is a critical variable: While those who willingly take DE courses and are able to adapt to the unfamiliar circumstances they face tend to do very well (sometimes even better than their on-campus peers), it is also true that not all students can or want to take courses in this way, and there is typically a higher level of drop-outs from DE courses among first-time participants. Thus, students should never be compelled to take DE courses as their only option.

• A new infrastructure must be built: To support both students and instructors, a new on-campus infrastructure of course development needs to be created to prepare materials (texts, study packets, sets of readings, lab experiences, manuals, etc.), train instructors, produce technologically based instruction (video-, audio-, and computer-based materials, for example), and assure materials and programs are delivered in timely and efficient fashion. These structures are expensive and should be shared across units of an institution, if possible.

• Human contact remains important: In several studies of the British Open University, as well as other systems, students consistently are more enthusiastic about and do better in programs that give them the chance to meet instructors and fellow students, if only for a weekend or week-long seminar at the end of a year of study. Other configurations (e.g., local discussion groups) can also provide this sort of human contact.

• Students and instructors have to "learn the system": In order to work effectively in this new environment, both students and instructors have to be made aware of what the expectations are of them, how those should be fulfilled, and how best to do that with available resources. Students, for example, do not automatically know how to use the kinds of help often designed into DE texts and study packets (peer self-study groups are an effective way to cope with this initial problem), and even excellent instructors need tutoring to see how to adapt their methods to the new media typically used for DE.