Don’t leave me hanging on the anglophone: The potential for online distance higher education in the Asia-Pacific region

Abstract

In the last decade there have been many attempts to mount online distance higher education programs on a global scale, led by the e-learning industry and university companies and consortia, some with government support: e.g. Universitas21 Global, Cardean University, Fathom, NYUOnline and the UKe-University. A primary commercial objective has been student markets in the Asia-Pacific nations, especially China, given unmet domestic demand and the growth of cross-border education. However while for-profit providers such as the University of Phoenix Online have shown mass online programs are viable in targeted markets, albeit more expensive than face-to-face programs, would-be global ventures hav..