Chapter 12: Distance Education: Practice Before Research or Research Before Practice?

During the past 20 years, we have observed the extraordinary expansion and development of distance education institutions, programs, and courses across the globe, particularly in higher education. For example, in the fall of 2008, there were some 3,090,000 active students enrolled at open universities in China (China, 2010). In another example, Anadolu University of Turkey, the national provider of distance education (open education) by Turkish statute, saw enrollment in open education programs growing from approximately 30,000 in 1982-1983 to over 1.5 million students today (University, 2010). Similarly, in India, the Indira Ghandhi National Open University reports a student enrollment of 1.5 million students coming from India and 35 other countries (Cener, 2010). The United States, too, witnessed a compound annual growth rate for students enrolled in at least one higher education course over the last six years of 19% (Allen & Seaman, 2010). Overall, two thirds of degree-granting postsecondary institutions for the period covering 2006–2007 offered distance education courses (Parsad & Lewis, 2008). International distance education programs and course offerings in higher education have therefore certainly continued to expand; but has the study of distance education kept pace with distance education practice?