ABSTRACT
The past two decades have witnessed expansion, diversification and the wide adoption of various forms of distance and online learning in higher education in North America. In the United States, between 1988–2008 the total number of degree-granting institutions grew by more than 1,000, the for-profit sector evidenced some of the strongest growth and the expansion of distance and online enrolments outstripped the growth in campus-based operations. The same period also witnessed growing concerns over the quality of higher education in the United States and the effectiveness of the self-regulating accreditation agencies.
