A Systems Approach to the Future of Distance Education in Colleges and Universities : Research , Development , and Implementation

and accessibility that distance education offers. This growth, however, has been a mixed blessing since it derives from using the Internet without fully taking advantage of personalized instruction and learning that the telecommunication and computer nexus offers. Thus, many institutions are disregarding the most valuable aspect of digital technologies in education. lum through information and communication technologies. This model of curriculum is a relic of the industrial era when standardization of products and services was highly valued in advanced economies. Today, however, in many sectors the economy of the United States either has already transitioned into a post-industrial era or is in the process of completing such a transition (Saba, 1997). In such an advanced economy, those who can think