LAUSR

Abstract Distance education reaches out to non-traditional students in geographically dispersed locations, who are unable to attend face-to-face classes. Contact institutions have been quick to realise the many advantages of distance (online) learning, such as easy access to learning materials, interactive activities, assessment and communication tools. However, the path to anything approaching dual-mode provision has not been without obstacles. In South Africa in the early 2000s, the Council on Higher Education reinforced the mandate of distance education universities and decreed that contact institutions should not encroach on this territory. Subsequently, various frameworks and guidelines emerged which can inform current consideration of dual-mode provision. This practitioner report presents two case studies (University of Pretoria, South Africa; and University of Oxford, United Kingdom) which explore the implications for contact institutions in expanding their provision to include distance education.