Many see the rise in the availability of technology-supported distance education—that is, the delivery of instruction over a distance to individuals located in one or more venues—not only as a revolutionary opportunity to increase access to postsecondary education, but also as an opportunity to hasten the overall pace of reform in higher education (Ehrmann n.d.). In contrast to the institutional status quo, what was once an eclectic assortment of individually accessed, noncredit educational courses is quickly being knit into comprehensive degree- and certificate granting programs (Phipps, Wellman, and Merisotis 1998). Indeed, if a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education (April 9, 1999, A27) is any indication, the distance education industry is thriving: “For an industry that barely existed three years ago, the level of activity is dizzying.” 

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