I''m enrolled in a Master''s Degree program for
Development Management through Open University (based in England). It''s largely a correspondance course, but OU has a First Class Client community where enrolled students can work with others in their specific class, in their area of study, in their immediate region, or around a particular topic that doesn''t actually relate to their studies (I''m active in the Mac users group, for instance). They also have a number of web sites and online libraries for their students, with quite advanced and helpful features.
OU has been offering degrees via correspondance since 1970, and I think what makes their online components sooooo successful is that experience in distance learning -- they apply tech probably better than anyone else not because of an understanding of tech so much as an understanding of DISTANCE, of what a student experiences working on his or her own, and on working with students who work full time and study part time.
The lesson being that often what makes distance learning work is the human systems that drive the tech, and not the other way around.
And one final thought -- I first used First Class Client back in the early 90s. I loved it back then. And I love it even more now! It''s fabulous, and works very well on the Mac, on an IBM/Clone, and via the Web.