ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines and analyses the origin and development of distance teaching at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the changes in teaching methodology that are associated with it. The only teaching-related move made by the UWI faculty was to approve the names of persons selected locally to provide tuition in some courses and to provide syllabi or course outlines. The Challenge prototype of distance teaching would not have been possible without Resident Tutors - UWI outreach representatives in the various territorial outposts. Period of the pilot study was appropriately called the University of the West Indies Distance Teaching Experiment (UWIDITE). Teaching through teleconferencing facilitated expansion of the scope of distance teaching. Distance learning is therefore seriously perceived as a critical mechanism for rapid human resource development in the community served by the University. Several topics addressed in UWI's report are institutional support, pedagogical modalities, training and evaluation-frame.
