What is the situation of proprietary distance education institutions?

In many countries private provision of distance education coexists with public provision, offering an alternative route to credentials. Private institutions have been in operation in many places as long as public ones.

Unlike public institutions, which typically offer a broad range of options, private institutions often concentrate on a particular subject area. Business has long been a common concentration. And in many countries there are growing numbers of private computer schools and trade schools.

Such private institutions often present regulatory problems for governments, particularly when they begin to operate outside their country of origin, as many are now doing.

• Global Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC), "Cartagena: Education in the Information Age: An Agenda for Action in Latin American and the Caribbean." Available at http://www.gii.org/egi00247.html. Link established with permission.

• Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). Available at http://www.detc.org. Link established with permission.

• ICS Learning Systems. Availabe at: http://www.icslearn.com/internat.htm

• Norwegian Association for Distance Education (NADE). Available at: http://www.nade-nff.no/nade-nff/