Distance education (DE) is no longer an option that institutions of higher education might consider, but has become a reality that must be intelligently constructed and managed with dwindling resources. In California, DE has been recommended as a solution to deal with the state's postsecondary financial crisis. As the University of California and…

In response to legislative mandate, a study was conducted in 1981 to determine the educational and fiscal effects of legislation authorizing independent study (IS) in California community colleges. Independent study was defined as learning undertaken by a student enrolled in a credit course without the immediate presence of the assigned…