Page 335 - Universitas Terbuka Center of Excellence In Asia 2010 and The World 2020 (A Journey Towards a Leading Open and Distance Education Institution 1984-2008)

system of education, quality improvement is correlated with cost. There is a

natural paradox in distance education system that a distance education
institution can a large number of student and that quality of implementation can

be enhanced even though the number of students is increasing , and the cost can
be reduced in order to provide services to a large number of students , nationally

and even globally. The latest development in information and communication
technology has encouraged some modes of ITC-based learning to be applied in

high education institutions.

Distance higher education institutions world-wide are challenged to respond
to a new paradigm which goes to a new direction and fulfill the latest needs with

regard to globalization, internationalization , education for all, partnership and
cooperation, and competition in providing services for higher education.
Partnership and cooperation are natural responses for competition . A leading

distance higher education institution is encouraged to develop a network of

cooperation with other institutions, such as development of joint programs and
subjects, recognition of programs and subjects from other institutions, credit
transfer, research and development.

In order to be competitive and excellent, a distance higher education
institution should develop partnership with other institution so that performance
and services to clients can be improved. Distance education higher educations

all over the world also have some opportunities to explore possible cooperation

which is beneficial to the institutions and students. The clients now have freedom
and flexibility to choose the subjects they want to study, how and when to study
them , and which institution they think providing the best service they can afford .

This is the main challenge for a distance education institution to survive and to
be excellent.

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