This book explores the essentials of distance education and reviews issues facing large open universities (mega-universities) worldwide. It uses examples from industry and the knowledge media, to show how technology-based learning can be made attractive both to students and to institutions. The book's eight chapters, including 10 figures and 5 tables, cover: "University Renewal for a New Millennium,""Challenges on Campus,""The Mega-Universities,""The Essentials of Distance Education,""Universities and Competitive Advantage,""Making Technology Attractive,""The Knowledge Media," and "Implementing a Technology Strategy." An appendix includes profiles of 11 mega-universities: The China TV University System; The Centre National d'Enseignement a Distance (France); The Indira Gandhi National Open University (India); Universitas Terbuka (Indonesia); Payame Noor University (Iran); The Korea National Open University; The University of South Africa; Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia (Spain); Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (Thailand); Anadolu University (Turkey); and The Open University (United Kingdom). (The bibliography contains 225 entries.) (CH)