Cable and phone companies are consolidating to provide interactive multimedia programming. Some cable companies are experimenting with offering high speed access to the Internet via cable. Distance education is becoming accepted practice. There is increasing evidence that much instruction can be provided effectively by interactive instructional software. Telecommunications, software, and the Internet eliminate walls and boundaries.
Investors recognize that the younger generation is quickly adapting to telecommunications.
An increasing number of students want and need nontraditional, flexible schedules. The prices of computers and modems are decreasing. The use of the Internet is expanding exponentially, and more in the business sector than in the education sector. A second, and related, signal of change concerns competency. Commercial businesses are beginning to produce educational courses and programs and certifying the competency of graduates of those programs.