How the Internet Affects Higher Education

Revision with unchanged content. This book is based on a doctoral dissertation in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies that addresses the gaps of access and quality in higher edu cation between high-income countries and low-to-middle income coun tries, and the role that Internet and computer technologies play in asso ciation with those gaps. It addresses the question whether the gaps will widen or narrow over time. It utilizes a mixed methodology, analyzing national-level gaps in Internet and computer technology through quantitative analyses of public data on telecommunications and Internet connectivity. It uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the diffusion and impact of Internet and computer technology at the institutional and class room levels. Ultimately, the answer as to whether the gaps will widen or narrow depends upon strategic decisions made at the national, institutional, and classroom levels.