The meteoric rise of distance education has brought increased attention to the services needed by faculty and students. A service taken for granted on campus, whether it's registering for a course or using the library, demands a new perspective when the student is elsewhere. A faculty member accustomed to the traditional classroom must call on other resources when preparing a course for video or the Web. Technology moves the institution and its programs beyond the boundaries of familiar geography and accustomed constituencies. In doing so, it also suggests collaborations of potential value to faculty members, academic institutions, businesses, and students.
Services change with the times.
Distance learning and its related technological resources provide new potential for students with disabilities. The Web offers possibilities for access to libraries and research facilities, and also for support of the online faculty. Traditional learning centers are being redefined. Special populations, seemingly out of reach until now, can be served. In an era in which personal privacy sometimes seems imperiled, services that involve student records need attention to concerns for ethical, legal, and confidential handling of personal information.