Distance Education- A view in context of India

The higher education sectors are constantly movingtowards the incorporation of explicit measures of the outcomes oftheir activities. It is especially important in the context of distanceeducation to address the issues of being accountable to thesociety. This paper presents the comparative study of thedimensions of outcome indicators employed by the distancelearning institutions at the Asian region. By means of bothquantitative and qualitative approaches, the relative importanceof the outcome indicators from teaching, research, consultanciesas well as cultural and social activities were analyzed in anattempt to understand the differences among the perceptions ofoutcomes employed by these institutions in the region as well asimportant issues about the topic.When quantifying and qualifying Distance Education andContinuous Education interaction, perceptions may be less thanreliable. In a study comparing distance education’ perceptions ofinteraction (as compared with observations of their interaction),Sorensen and Baylen (2000) noted that students accurately notedthat: across-site interaction was very low, that within-siteinteraction was very high, that interaction changes withinstructor location, that remote site students participate less, andthat group activities increase interactions. However, studentsperceived that less interaction occurred over time (when, in fact,interaction increased), and that technology inhibits interaction(when, more accurately, it seems to create different patterns ofinteraction.The OU provides university education to those wishing topursue higher education on a part-time and/or distance learningbasis, including people with health disabilities, who are officiallya priority group for the university; nearly 13,000 OU studentshave health disabilities. The British Government has also taskedthe Open University to continue the work of the Council forNational Academic Awards (CNAA) when it was dissolved. TheCNAA formerly awarded degrees at the polytechnics which havesince become universities.