Prospects for Combining Residential and Distance Mode of University Education in Tanzania

Abstract

Advancement in telecommunication technology has created opportunities for universities to expand residential education beyond the traditional institutional walls.  As a result, universities world-wide have or are in a process of embracing distance education.  The reforms are necessary to meet challenges of the changing demographics of the student population; broader demand for accessibility and equity in distribution of benefits and costs; and the general global trend in the progression of the role of University education in the broader contexts of economic and social development.  The emphasis is on the use of teleinformatics technology and maximizing capacity and quality of academic programmes.  Through the Institutional Transformation programme (UDSM 2000), the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) has initiated a study whose aim is to examine and propose a model of strategic planning that can be adopted by the University of Dar es Salam in order to combine residential and distance modes of education delivery.  The proposed model would be one, which can easily be translated for use by other Universities with particular needs in the delivery of distance education.