A Tale of Two Countries: Higher Distance Educación in Mexico and the United States of America

Abstract

This article presents a summary of the panorama of higher distance education in the two neighboring countries of North America of Mexico and the United States. The first part addresses the different forms of distance education offered by Mexican universities – how, as they have evolved, they have faced such challenges as evaluation, accreditation, and served as an alternative route to social mobility, thus benefitting a society undergoing development. The second section addresses higher distance education in the United States, recounting the historical background and the different forms of distance education offer. We review the findings of national studies of higher distance education published from 2005 to 2015. In addition to commenting on some indicators of distance education as a professional field of practice of distance education, we discussed the responses institutions and professional associations have responded to the interpretation of the federal government’s Department of Education's rules on delivery of distance education courses and programs across state lines.