What is the role of government infrastructure policy and regulation in distance education?

There are almost as many models of government regulatory and support agencies as there are governments. But in the past 10 to 15 years there has been an almost universal trend toward greater government emphasis on accountability by education institutions.

This emphasis on accountability frequently comes from a felt need to use increasingly scarce resources more effectively. What has it led to?

• Government (and taxpayer) demands that institutions demonstrate the appropriateness and quality of what they do
• Government requirements to develop and use indicators and measures of institutional performance
• Government attempts to ensure that institutions respond to the results of such measures.

Similar principles are applied to both distance and conventional education, though some measures may be less appropriate for distance teaching. Government regulators need to take account of such differences.

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