EDUCATIONListing of ODL Directories and Databases Worldwide
An annotated listing of computerized directories and databases of ODL courses worldwide can be found in the next section. This listing includes information on the contents of each directory and a short background on the source.
This listing is for reference purposes only and the inclusion of a directory or of an institution/course or programme of study does not mean that it is endorsed officially by UNESCO.
It is important to note that individual institutions impose their own restrictions as to where courses can be studied. In addition, course fees are also extremely variable not only between courses and institutions but also to their target audience. In general, students based within the country of the course provider will experience lower course fees than students based outside that country.
For further information, please consult the document, Open and Distance Learning: Trends, Policy and Strategy Considerations, produced by the Division of Higher Education, Paris, UNESCO (2002).
Association of Atlantic Universities
Established in 1964, the Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU) is a voluntary association of 17 universities and colleges in the Atlantic region and one in the West Indies that offer programmes leading to a degree or have degree-granting status. In 1989, AAU established ‘the Calendar of University Distance Education Courses in the Atlantic Provinces’. For the past three years, the calendar has been posted on the web, where users can browse or search for courses. The calendar holds information on course start dates, institutional contact information, course level, and delivery method. There is no information available on course descriptions, entry requirements or fees. The target audience is primarily English (and French) speaking students interested in courses from a Canadian provider.
CNED - Centre National d'Enseignement à Distance
The French National Centre for Distance learning (CNED) is a public administrative establishment under the authority of the French Ministry of Education established in 1939. CNED has 350,000 students mostly located in France but more than 37,000 live abroad, in more than 200 countries. Provided they meet the entrance qualifications required for the chosen studies, anyone can register with CNED, from anywhere. The levels taught by CNED range from preschool to higher education, including vocational training and further education. There are 500 complete training programmes and 3,000 modules. The website hosts a database of these courses with complete descriptions and entrance qualifications. Courses are all in French. The target audience is global.
CISAER Courses on the Internet: Survey, Analysis, Evaluation, Recommendation
Courses on the Internet: Survey, Analysis, Evaluation, Recommendation (CISAER) was a project, undertaken in 1999, supported by the European Leonardo da Vinci programme. The project aims to provide a comprehensive, state-of-the-art survey of course provision on the Internet. It lists 130 institutions by country, giving brief details of the institution’s usage of the Internet for courses, as well as contact details and website links. However there are no course descriptions. Countries listed are from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America, as well as Europe and North America.
Degree.net
Degree.net is a division of Ten Speed Press, a publisher of career guides. The primary area of expertise is distance learning. The website hosts a directory of institutions offering ODL courses, their contact details and website links. Target audience for the database is worldwide, though individual institutions impose restrictions on courses. No specific course details are given.
Distance Education Course Finder
Distance Education Course Finder has information on over 55,000 distance learning courses and programmes offered from universities, colleges and companies. It is available in English, French and Spanish. Users can browse by subject, search by keyword, or narrow by language of instruction. It gives brief course details including: title, provider institution, contact details and course number. The target audience is worldwide but course availability is not known. No course fees or restrictions are listed.
Distance Education Clearinghouse
The Distance Education Clearinghouse is managed and maintained by the University of Wisconsin-Extension, in cooperation with its partners and other University of Wisconsin institutions. It is a widely recognized website bringing together distance education information from Wisconsin, national, and international sources. It holds a database of distance programmes and courses from the University of Wisconsin and also has lists of other online ODL directories/databases.
Distance Education and Training Council
The Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), founded in 1926 and formerly known as the National Home Study Council, is a non-profit [301(3)(6)] educational association located in Washington DC. The website holds a directory of accredited distance teaching institutions from Canada, Ireland, Japan, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. Institutions are categorized as: degree granting, postsecondary, high schools, or military schools. The Directory lists institutional contact information and a description of types of distance learning courses offered. It lists subjects offered and institutions teaching in that field. No specific course, fee or availability information is listed.
Distance Learning Channel (Ed-x)
The Distance Learning Channel, based in Texas, United States, was established in 1997 by a group of university professors, web designers and information technology specialists. It has comprehensive information on over 20,000 online courses and degree programmes from 700 online colleges worldwide. Users can browse or search for courses. Course information includes: description, credits, cost guide, accreditation, pre-requisites, institutional descriptions, website links and contact details. The target audience is global.
The DistanceXchange
The DistanceXchange is a directory of accredited distance learning and online education graduate degrees offered by international universities. They are based in Hong Kong (China) and list courses from Charles Sturt University, Edith Cowan University, Deakin University, University of Phoenix Online, Gradschools.com, and Central Queensland University.
eLearners.com
eLearners.com Inc. started in 1999 in New Jersey (United States) and holds information on: cost, delivery format, course descriptions, educational level, instructional language and institutional information. Users can browse and search. The target audience is global.
Global Network Academy - Online Distance Education Catalog
The Global Network Academy was founded in 1993. It is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation incorporated in the state of Texas. It is dedicated to ‘promoting access to educational opportunities for anybody, anywhere’. It is an open source catalogue of online and correspondence degree programmes and course information. The catalogue of courses is browsable by subject and searchable by keyword. It lists contact details for the provider institution, course fees, description, language of instruction, and any requirements.
International Centre for Distance Learning (iCDL)
The International Centre for Distance Learning (iCDL) is based at the Open University in the United Kingdom. Established in 1990 it has grown into one of the best-known sites for ODL course information. There are 5,608 United Kingdom courses and programmes and 1,458 from non-United Kingdom institutions. The database provides: course descriptions, costs, entry requirements, accreditation, and institutional contact details. The database is both searchable and browsable. The target audience of this website and database is worldwide though individual courses/institutions may impose restrictions due to residential schools, etc. The majority of the courses are taught in English and students are expected to have requisite English language skills. The database covers courses at all educational levels and is therefore used by a cross-section of potential students. Course fee information is given in the database and course costs are extremely varied.
MindEdge
MindEdge is based in Massachusetts, United States. Users can browse through the subject categories or use the search facility. It lists both online and classroom-based courses. Course information includes: description, delivery method, credits and institutional information.
MonsterLearning
MonsterLearning.com offers a searchable listing of online and offline courses; certification courses; graduate and undergraduate degree programmes; and continuing education. The courses are not all ODL but users can select ‘distance/online’ in the search. It lists: institutional information, price, prerequisites and accreditation details. MonsterLearning.com has a network of websites around the world offering information on opportunities in that region.
Teleeducation NB
Teleeducation NB is a network of community learning centres in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It provides assistance in the development and delivery of distance education programmes. TeleCampus is a comprehensive directory of thousands of online courses from around the world. It also has comprehensive directory of over 1,400 New Brunswick online courses. Courses taught in French and English are listed. Search is possible by keyword, learning level, subject and price or browse by subject. The information available includes: course description, price, educational level and institutional information. The target audience is worldwide.
World Wide Learn
World Wide Learn, a commercial website, states it contains hundreds of online courses, accredited degree programmes, certificates, professional continuing education and learning resources in 155 subject areas offered by educational institutions, companies and individuals from all over the world. It lists institutional information and contact details as well as course descriptions and fee information.
Directories based in the Arab States Region
Arab Open University
The Arab Open University aims to promote an open system of higher education that provides opportunities of studies for professional development and lifelong learning. This website provides information on academic programmes and registration requirements.
Arab Network for Open and Distance Education
The Arab Network for Open and Distance Education (ANODED) was established in Cairo in 1996 as a non-profit, non-political and non-governmental educational organization. It is based in Jerusalem and aims to make a major contribution to the development of open and distance education in the Arab World. It plans to take part in coordinating distance education programmes.
Syrian Virtual University
SVU is an accredited full-fledge virtual university in the Middle East. SVU provides teaching methods based on international standards and new technologies. Course information as well as other resources are available on this site.
Directories based in the Africa Region
African Virtual University
African Virtual University (AVU) began with a pilot phase in 1997 funded by the World Bank. Since then it has established itself as a non-profit organization with headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. AVU is a ‘university without wall’ that uses information and communication technologies to give the countries of sub-Saharan Africa direct access to distance learning courses from institutions in North America and Europe. Programmes are hosted by AVU’s partner institutions in African countries including: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The website, in both English and French, has a directory of courses with descriptions, and entry requirements. The target audience is students within the partner countries.
National Association of Distance Education Organisations of South Africa
The National Association of Distance Education Organisations of South Africa (NADEOSA) was established in 1996. Some 58 organizations involved in distance education formed an association committed to promoting access to lifelong learning of high quality. At present it only lists members contact details. Members have been requested to provide a profile containing background to the organization, target audience, student numbers and programmes and courses descriptions. These profiles will be made available on the website once they have all been received.
Directories based in the Asia and the Pacific Region
Asian Association of Open Universities
Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) was founded in 1987 by a number of open universities in the Asian region who realized the significant contribution of distance education in democratizing the provision of learning opportunities. Based in Hong Kong SAR (China), it provides website links for member institutions from 21 countries in worldwide. No course information is provided.
Australasian Association of Distance Education Schools
The Australasian Association of Distance Education Schools (AADES) was formed in 1993 and currently has more than 1,000 members in all Australian states and New Zealand. It represents school level distance education. The website lists members’ contact details and descriptions.
Indonesian Distance Learning Network
Indonesian Distance Learning Network (IDLN) is a collaborative effort of various sectors in Indonesia towards developing distance education and training. IDLN is a coordinating network of institutions among government, non-government, and private institutions and individuals responsible for distance education and training. It lists 13 member organizations and their website links.
Directories based in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region
Asociación Iberoamericana de Educación Superior a Distancia
The Asociación Iberoamericana de Educación Superior a Distancia (AIESAD) is a non-profit organization, comprising 42 universities and institutions of higher education in Europe and Latin America seeking to promote the study and investigation of distance education, as well as a source of information for similar networks on this subject. The website is in Spanish. It lists institutional contact details from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela. No course information is provided.
Associação Brasileira de Educação a Distância Brazilian Association of Distance Education/Associação Brasileira de Educação a Distância (ABED) is involved in the study, research, development, promotion and distribution of distance education in Brazil. The website is in Portuguese. It has directory of online courses from Brazilian institutions arranged by subject and links to institutional websites.
Biblioteca Virtual de Educação a Distância
The Biblioteca Virtual de Educação a Distância is based at the Universidade Federal da Bahia, Brazil. The website lists both Brazilian and foreign distance learning courses offered via the Internet, television, radio, printed text or multimedia. Information is in Portuguese and includes course description and contact details.
Brazilian Ministry of Education – Higher Education at a Distance
The Ministério da Educação — Educação Superior a Distância website has a directory of courses from Brazilian institutions. Information includes course title, description and institutional contact information. This website is in Portuguese.
Consorcio - Red de Educación a Distancia/Inter American Distance Education Consortium
The Inter American Distance Education Consortium (CREAD) was founded in 1990 at the International Council for Distance Education World Conference in Caracas, Venezuela. Information on the website is available in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. It lists member institutions from Central, North and South America with website details and short descriptions.
Directories based in Europe and North America
American Distance Education Consortium - Degree and Program Database Catalog
American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC) is a distance education consortium of state universities and land-grant colleges. The database holds information on around 550 programmes and degrees available from United States ADEC member institutions. Users can browse or search courses. Information includes: provider institution contact details, course description, start and end date, delivery method, and fee information. Primarily of use to students interested in United States ODL courses.
Canada’s Campus Connection
Canada’s Campus Connection is delivered by Industry Canada and established in collaboration with the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC). It promotes over 2,200 online credit courses from over 75 institutions to learners in Canada and abroad. Users can search courses by keyword, institution, region, educational level, language, and area of interest or browse by subject. It lists course descriptions, institutional information, educational level, prerequisites, availability and credit hours. It is of interest to any student wishing to take a course from a Canadian institution.
Indiana College Network (ICN)
The Indiana College Network (ICN) provides a gateway to information on e-learning from Indiana colleges and universities. ICN lists more than 1,500 courses and more than 100 degree and certificate programmes via distance education. It contains information on: course description, title, prerequisite, credit hours, and cost. It covers courses from K-12 to postgraduate, listing both credit and non-credit courses.
Norwegian Distance Education Database
The database contains information on courses and programmes offered by independent distance education institutions, The Norwegian State Institution for Distance Education, universities and colleges engaged in distance education and flexible learning in Norway. The site provides programme and course description as well as information on level, entry requirement, qualifications, media, methods of support and assessment. All information and search facilities are in Norwegian.
Ohio Learning Network
The Ohio Learning Network (OLN) online catalogue is known as OhioLEARNS, a state-wide course catalogue of distance learning courses and degrees offered by college and universities. It identifies online degrees and distance education courses offered by accredited Ohio colleges and universities. The catalogue is searchable by keyword, date, institution, method of delivery and degree level. It holds information on: admissions, credit transfer, delivery method, financial aid, prerequisites and other enrolment issues and fees.
Peterson’s Distance Learning
Peterson’s Distance Learning, founded in 1966, is part of the Thomson Corporation based in the United States. Courses can be searched for by subject, keyword or educational level. The target audience is primarily students interested in courses from United States-based institutions. It holds contact details for the provider institutions. There is information on over 1,000 distance learning programmes.
