Distance learning in the United States: the near future

Abstract This article makes predictions about the long‐term integration of distance education teaching into face‐to‐face institutions; with specialist distance education institutions becoming centres of specialist teaching and research. As life‐long learning becomes more a pressing social demand, so courses will be offered more at national levels ‐‐ state boundaries will pale into insignificance as communications technology facilitates national and international access. Local courses will prevail only in areas of intense public demand and will tend to be low‐level courses. Most teachers de facto will become distance educators of sorts.