This digest presents a discussion of key policy issues confronting higher education in the age of distance learning, and discusses implications for the community college. Existing educational practices cannot accommodate distance education without corresponding shifts in the fundamental views of teaching and learning as well as in state, federal, and institutional policies. Policy issues include campus leaders' priorities for implementing distance education methods, as well as faculty acceptance and participation, especially regarding ease of use in technological systems. Distance education will more likely be adopted if it is perceived to be compatible with the college's mission and effective from both an academic and cost perspective. Implications for community colleges include solving access and resource challenges, concern over the issues of copyright and intellectual property rights, and the establishment of virtual universities this decade. The digest concludes that, with wider implementation of distance learning, the focus of educational organizations will shift from teaching to learning. Adapting to this shift will require educational organizations to adopt new approaches for defining faculty work and securing funds for new technology. (AS)