远程教育正在美国快速地发展。电信网络的拓展使许多大专院校对非在校生传送学历教育项目的能力大大加强。然而很多教育的领导者发现,学校如果得不到其他机构的支持,将很难在远程教育中取得进展(Vombrock1998)。在许多情况下,大专院校正在与商界、公立学校、政府机构和其他组织建立伙伴合作关系,尽力把学校的课程扩展到新的市场。这种技术的改革为政策制定者制定全州的计划和重新评价传统的教学和教育管理政策提供了推动力(Olcott,1992)。某些州提出的解决办法是,发展一种高级的遍及整个州的网络,这种网络能使院校和各种机构共享本州的人力资源和财政资源。 以伊利诺斯州和爱荷华州的情况为例来展开讨论。1995年,伊利诺斯州开始进行遍及州内各社区 Distance education is rapidly developing in the United States. The expansion of telecommunications networks has greatly enhanced the capacity of many tertiary institutions to deliver academic education programs to non-current students. However, many leaders of education find it difficult to make progress in distance education without a school’s support (Vombrock 1998). In many cases, tertiary institutions are partnering with the business community, public schools, government agencies and other organizations to make every effort to extend school curricula to new markets. This technological change has provided impetus for policymakers in developing statewide programs and reevaluating traditional teaching and education management policies (Olcott, 1992). The solution proposed by some states is to develop an advanced network throughout the state that enables institutions and agencies to share the state’s human and financial resources. Take the case of Illinois and Iowa for example. In 1995, Illinois began to operate throughout the state’s communities