This handbook provides overviews and summaries of the research and practice of distance education in the United States. The last three to five years have seen an explosion of interest in and discussion about distance education, driven by the potential applications of interactive computer-based technology. Despite the impact of this new technology, this book is not about technology, but about the consequences of the separation of learners and teachers, one of which is the need to use technology. The volume provides a broad review of the research, complemented by commentaries based on practical experience. It addresses such questions as how distance education is best practiced at the level of the teacher, as well as the administrator, and it examines the public policy implications of shifting a greater proportion of educational resources to this method. Finally, it looks at how the expansion of distance education affects educational research and theory.
With some 700,000 civilian employees, the Department of Defense is the single largest employer of civil service workers in the U.S. government. The Office of the Chancellor for Education and Professional Development in the Department of Defense (DoD) is charged with ensuring the quality and productivity of education and professional development activities targeted at DoD civilians. At the request of the Chancellor's office, RAND undertook a study to examine the approaches used to evaluate academic quality and productivity in a variety of postsecondary education and training contexts, including corporations, state governments, and universities. The study then considered which approaches might be most relevant to the Chancellor1s office.