Why is leadership especially important in distance education?

All the effective distance education programs of significant scale have had high-quality leadership. Unusual leadership is needed to ensure that the long-term investment needed for distance education is available and is effectively deployed.

Success in distance education requires leadership that can release an institution's creativity and entrepreneurship, creating a working environment in which individuals and groups can respond to emerging opportunities and changing environments. It also requires building and sustaining organizational structures that will support appropriate responses to unexpected opportunities.

Successful leadership requires skills in:

• Managing change
• Managing resources
• Managing risk
• Managing people and costs
• Effectively interpreting changes in the social, political, economic, and education environment.