**2. Literature review**

with remarkable expansion of places for distance education. According to the Anuário Brasileiro Estatístico de Educação Aberta e a Distância, more than 2.5 million of Brazilians

For this reason, Palloff and Pratt state that it is still necessary to increase the efforts to improve the quality of the services offered at distance education [2]. For these authors, it is indispensable that course coordinators, teachers and professors, course designers, and other professionals involved with distance courses search more and conduct more efforts regarding students treatment. In this matter, social psychology can contribute assisting in determining students' expectations and desires in order to assess the needs of apprenticeship. Additionally, other sciences, such as Management and Economy, may help to access market expectations regard‐

Bastos highlights that professional qualification can be understood as an important justifica‐ tion to the success of organizations and even to countries to keep competitive in the scenario of uncertainty and turbulences. Besides, the re-structuration of the production process demands new forms of action and reaction in the market, thus requiring new skills and

As a result, many studies and researches about distance education are gaining strength around the world. In Brazil, we may give attention to authors who are investigating the institutions practicing distance education through methods that evaluate their competences. Among them, we may point out in [4-17]. Outside the country, we may give attention to other authors such

When thinking about quality and assessment, we must think about appropriate methodologies to the new market reality. Thus, according to Carlini and Ramos, in reference [6], the concept of evaluation should be understood by the following aspects: diagnostic, formation and somatization, as a practice that search to understand, ameliorate, qualify and quantify the processes of apprenticeship, giving them particular meanings and orientation to decisionmaking process in both in-classroom and distance education. In this matter, authors in references [11, 27, 13, 28] state that it is necessary to have a rigorous process of evaluation and improvement of the adopted techniques and methodologies just to provide credibility and

In this context, this chapter will focus on the following questions: Do undergraduate distance courses produce a process of qualified and effective learning that contributes to the practices of people development in the market? If so, how do human resource managers from industrial organizations in the state of Minas Gerais evaluate the performance of their employees graduated at in-classroom and distance courses? In other words, what are the perceptions of human resource managers regarding the quality of the distance undergraduate courses offered in the market? Thus, the main objective of this study is to assess the perception of human resource managers from industrial organizations in relation to the quality of undergraduate

studied in distance education courses in Brazil in 2007, as in reference [1].

322 E-Learning - Instructional Design, Organizational Strategy and Management

ing the performance and quality of employees who attended distance courses.

competences to stay competitive worldwide [3].

recognition to distance education in Brazil.

courses offered in Minas Gerais.

as in references [18-26].

This chapter deals with a literature review about distance education, contextualization of distance education in Brazil, quality in distance education, human resources management and employee's qualification, and the new roles of human resources regarding distance education in order to discuss the findings about quality of undergraduate courses in Brazil from the perspective of human resource managers from industrial organizations.

#### **2.1. Distance education**

Contemporary society has undergone many changes, which in turn has generated substan‐ tial impact on the educational process. Souza mentions that the technological, information‐ al and scientific revolutions have had a lasting impact on the history of humanity. This unique and remarkable period can be understood through two primary factors: a scientif‐ ic scenario extremely developed with a technological breakthrough that covered all fields of knowledge and the dissemination of knowledge that quickly affects people from different social classes [29].

Given the above, where the changes are quickly and intensely present in society, formal education is becoming more important. This is because education improves the employee's income, develops better institutions and organizations and brings economic and social development to the region or country [30].

Within this context, together with the beat and intense workdays, there is the rapid appearance of distance education in different countries. Nunes believes that the choice of distance education modality emerged as a means of providing educational institutions with instru‐ ments to meet the new demands for education and agile, quick and qualitatively superior training [31]. On the other hand, Moore and Kearsley present distance education as a planned learning that normally occurs in a different place of education, and because of this, it requires special techniques of course design, special education techniques, special methods of com‐ munication through electronic and other technologies, as well as specific organizational and administrative arrangements [32].

Additionally, Preti states that distance education is, therefore, an actual form of non-traditional teaching that is typical nowadays. It offers different ways of teaching and learning, using new methods, techniques and resources available for companies too, since most of its students have some particular characteristics [33]. These students are usually adults in the job market, live in distant places from educational centers, failed approval in regular courses, are very heterogeneous and with little time to study in classroom teaching.

In this scenario, these students seek this learning technique because they found it easier to plan their programs of study and evaluate the progress they made, and because they prefer to study alone than to study in regular classes.

Discussions on distance education (EAD) have multiplied in recent years. According to Suga, one of the reasons is that this system extends educational opportunities to a large segment of the population [30]. A great part of the population benefited from EAD system is made up of people who cannot attend classroom courses for various reasons such as long distances.

It is important to understand that distance education should be like a system that enables quality of knowledge and access to education, besides contributing to the democratization of knowledge. In other countries, this method has won its performance space and recognition for its quality and methodological innovation in addition to being regarded as the education of the future, in the societies mediated by information processes and technology [33].

When thinking about quality, we should consider evaluation methodologies consistent with this new reality. According to Carlini and Ramos, the concept of evaluation is understood through the following aspects: diagnosis, training and somatization, and practice that seeks to understand, improve, qualify and quantify the processes of teaching and learning thus giving them unique meanings and helping in taking new decisions, whether in in-classroom educa‐ tion or in virtual education [6].

In the technological age, where changes are so accelerated, knowledge management becomes critical to maintaining a competitive advantage in the market. Authors in references [10, 11, 34, 13, 35] state that companies have felt the need to develop their own educational systems geared to meet market needs, as well as to improve their relations with employees, customers, suppliers and the community in general. Due to this phenomenon, organizations have invested in the formation of the profile of future professionals, providing them with continuous learning opportunities and the development of attitudes, skills and abilities beyond the concern with theoretical knowledge.

Some time ago, companies began to realize that their greatest competitive advantage was at the level of training, knowledge and commitment of the entire team, including customers and suppliers. That said, it is observed that the effective validity of university undergraduates and graduate students is becoming increasingly reduced; that is, if the employee does not stay permanently updated, he will be outdated in a short time, even with a "suitable" title.

Thus, Vilas Boas believes that traditional training programs no longer meet the training needs and updated knowledge is required by market dynamics [10]. As a result, organizations face a competitive environment and seek in the lifelong learning process a way to build a compet‐ itive business intelligence that can proactively respond to the demands of the globalized world.

In this context, this study seeks to make a theoretical and practical analysis of distance education as an innovative element in the educational model, highlighting this mode as a resource of people's training and improvement in the business environment.

It is indisputable that in Brazil distance education is booming and has established itself, especially at university level. Some of the main reasons for this rapid growth are the repressed demand of not attended students, mainly for economic reasons, flexibility of time to attend inclassroom courses and geographical access to learning places. Another relevant aspect is that education for work is considered by many people as the best way to promote greater social equity and reduce the differences in constant competition for a place in the labor market [36].

Therefore, it is essential to improve the process of evaluation of distance education systems in Brazil and elsewhere. In addition to its wide dissemination in the country and its social and economic impact, EAD is a relatively new methodology that must be remodeled to suit the different needs of students and the market. It is also necessary to have a rigorous process of evaluation and improvement of techniques and methodologies adopted in distance education courses, just to provide credibility and recognition to this modality of education in the country as in references [27, 28, 15, 16, 17].

#### **2.2. Contextualizing distance education in Brazil**

income, develops better institutions and organizations and brings economic and social

Within this context, together with the beat and intense workdays, there is the rapid appearance of distance education in different countries. Nunes believes that the choice of distance education modality emerged as a means of providing educational institutions with instru‐ ments to meet the new demands for education and agile, quick and qualitatively superior training [31]. On the other hand, Moore and Kearsley present distance education as a planned learning that normally occurs in a different place of education, and because of this, it requires special techniques of course design, special education techniques, special methods of com‐ munication through electronic and other technologies, as well as specific organizational and

Additionally, Preti states that distance education is, therefore, an actual form of non-traditional teaching that is typical nowadays. It offers different ways of teaching and learning, using new methods, techniques and resources available for companies too, since most of its students have some particular characteristics [33]. These students are usually adults in the job market, live in distant places from educational centers, failed approval in regular courses, are very

In this scenario, these students seek this learning technique because they found it easier to plan their programs of study and evaluate the progress they made, and because they prefer to study

Discussions on distance education (EAD) have multiplied in recent years. According to Suga, one of the reasons is that this system extends educational opportunities to a large segment of the population [30]. A great part of the population benefited from EAD system is made up of people who cannot attend classroom courses for various reasons such as long distances.

It is important to understand that distance education should be like a system that enables quality of knowledge and access to education, besides contributing to the democratization of knowledge. In other countries, this method has won its performance space and recognition for its quality and methodological innovation in addition to being regarded as the education of

When thinking about quality, we should consider evaluation methodologies consistent with this new reality. According to Carlini and Ramos, the concept of evaluation is understood through the following aspects: diagnosis, training and somatization, and practice that seeks to understand, improve, qualify and quantify the processes of teaching and learning thus giving them unique meanings and helping in taking new decisions, whether in in-classroom educa‐

In the technological age, where changes are so accelerated, knowledge management becomes critical to maintaining a competitive advantage in the market. Authors in references [10, 11, 34, 13, 35] state that companies have felt the need to develop their own educational systems geared to meet market needs, as well as to improve their relations with employees, customers, suppliers and the community in general. Due to this phenomenon, organizations have invested

the future, in the societies mediated by information processes and technology [33].

heterogeneous and with little time to study in classroom teaching.

development to the region or country [30].

324 E-Learning - Instructional Design, Organizational Strategy and Management

administrative arrangements [32].

alone than to study in regular classes.

tion or in virtual education [6].

The history of distance education in Brazil, and in the world, is not new. Brazil has nearly a century of experience. Over the years, it was not only successes and recognitions that have marked its existence. Probably, the first experiences in distance education in Brazil have been unregistered, since the first known data belong to the twentieth century.

It appears that since the 1970s there have been attempts to systematize the experience in distance education in Brazil, which effectively are not solidified because of government intervention, at the time of the military regime. With the transition to democracy in the 1980s, distance education had been overlooked and forgotten, because there were political differences about the projects and programs developed by the government. However, the 1990s saw a growing need for continuous and permanent education, as well as a debate on technological advances, which obviously made distance education emerge as a real opportunity to expand the education for the entire population, especially those who were outside of the traditional educational system [37].

For these reasons, it is relevant to highlight that between the 1970s and 1980s, private foun‐ dations and non-governmental organizations have initiated the provision of distance supple‐ mentary courses, at tele-education model, with satellite classes, supplemented by printed materials. This practice marked the arrival of the second generation of distance education in the country. It is also noteworthy that only in the 1990s the majority of Brazilian higher education institutions mobilized for distance education using new communication and information technologies. A study carried out by Chang and Smith showed that when information on the organization and operation of courses and programs in distance education are more transparent, and the students are more conscious about their rights, duties and skills, the experience of distance education will be more profitable for Brazilian students. Apart from that, they observed that the greater the credibility of the institutions, the better would be the experiences in distance education [38].

The enrichment of distance education came only with the Law number 9394/96 – Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education, which included EAD in the education system and recognized it as a legitimate educational modality of the education system in Brazil. Even then, many misconceptions regarding this type of education still remain, hindering its enrichment and recognition as a specific field of information and as a specific and unique methodology of education [37].

According to a survey conducted by the Brazilian Statistical Yearbook of Open Education and Distance Learning (ABRAEAD), in its edition of 2008, more than 2.5 million Brazilians studied in courses with distance methodologies, in 2007, in the country. The data do not only include students in institutions of courses accredited by the education system but also large projects of regional or national importance, such as Bradesco Foundation, Roberto Marinho Foundation and the Group S (SESI, SENAI, SENAC, SEBRAE, etc) [1].

Several studies and researches on distance education have become increasingly important on the world stage. In Brazil, we can highlight some authors who are investigating the institutions that practice this type of education by methods that assess their skills, includ‐ ing [31, 4-10, 15-17, 39].

The development of distance education in Brazil, as well as in the world, is due to the tech‐ nological growth of the media. It had moments of success as well as failures and resistance that remains nowadays in some countries. Some people maintain very large bias within distance education. Thus, researchers who believe that distance education is suitable to attend special needs fight to highlight its place in the education system. In this context, studies about the quality of distance education courses are gaining value in this sector.

#### **2.3. Quality in distance education**

Distance education has been consolidated as an important alternative to capacitate students in Brazil. It is worth noting that according to Abraead, there are 2,504,483 students officially enrolled in distance education, comprising all forms of distance education offered in the country. Specifically, among graduate students, there are 813,550 students registered in undergraduate courses [1].

Comparing the number of places in higher education in Brazil from 2003 to 2010, we can see clearly the role of distance education in the volume of places offered. It presents a strong growth over the years, even though it is notable that there is still a very long way to go and many spaces to be filled, as shown in Table 1. The number of students enrolled in distance education has grown from 49,911 students in 2003 to 930,179 students in 2010.


**Table 1.** Growth of in-classroom education × growth of distance education

advances, which obviously made distance education emerge as a real opportunity to expand the education for the entire population, especially those who were outside of the traditional

For these reasons, it is relevant to highlight that between the 1970s and 1980s, private foun‐ dations and non-governmental organizations have initiated the provision of distance supple‐ mentary courses, at tele-education model, with satellite classes, supplemented by printed materials. This practice marked the arrival of the second generation of distance education in the country. It is also noteworthy that only in the 1990s the majority of Brazilian higher education institutions mobilized for distance education using new communication and information technologies. A study carried out by Chang and Smith showed that when information on the organization and operation of courses and programs in distance education are more transparent, and the students are more conscious about their rights, duties and skills, the experience of distance education will be more profitable for Brazilian students. Apart from that, they observed that the greater the credibility of the institutions, the better would be the

The enrichment of distance education came only with the Law number 9394/96 – Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education, which included EAD in the education system and recognized it as a legitimate educational modality of the education system in Brazil. Even then, many misconceptions regarding this type of education still remain, hindering its enrichment and recognition as a specific field of information and as a specific and unique

According to a survey conducted by the Brazilian Statistical Yearbook of Open Education and Distance Learning (ABRAEAD), in its edition of 2008, more than 2.5 million Brazilians studied in courses with distance methodologies, in 2007, in the country. The data do not only include students in institutions of courses accredited by the education system but also large projects of regional or national importance, such as Bradesco Foundation, Roberto Marinho Foundation

Several studies and researches on distance education have become increasingly important on the world stage. In Brazil, we can highlight some authors who are investigating the institutions that practice this type of education by methods that assess their skills, includ‐

The development of distance education in Brazil, as well as in the world, is due to the tech‐ nological growth of the media. It had moments of success as well as failures and resistance that remains nowadays in some countries. Some people maintain very large bias within distance education. Thus, researchers who believe that distance education is suitable to attend special needs fight to highlight its place in the education system. In this context, studies about

Distance education has been consolidated as an important alternative to capacitate students in Brazil. It is worth noting that according to Abraead, there are 2,504,483 students officially

the quality of distance education courses are gaining value in this sector.

educational system [37].

326 E-Learning - Instructional Design, Organizational Strategy and Management

experiences in distance education [38].

methodology of education [37].

ing [31, 4-10, 15-17, 39].

**2.3. Quality in distance education**

and the Group S (SESI, SENAI, SENAC, SEBRAE, etc) [1].

According to data from Abraead, the average age of distance education students compared to students in in-classroom courses is seven years higher, and their age group corresponds to the range of 30–40-years-old. These kinds of students require special attention in order to get their attention to learn in this special mode [1].

Thus, it is essential to define a pedagogical approach to attend to those students and to assure quality of a distance course. There are many special features to be observed, as pointed out by Vilas Boas, Hamtini, Ferreira and Furtado. This pedagogical approach is a kind of guideline that determines since the planning of the course and its operation until the grasp of the objectives, represented by the presentation of content, the role played by its participants, the forms of interaction between them and the assessment of learning. The focus should be on the quality of material and in the fulfillment of the complexity of current educational setting [17].

Regarding distance education courses, they have shown over the years a functionalist ap‐ proach, with presentation of content in modules, use of tutorials and objective assessments. In fact, an attempt to replicate the classroom model. However, in education as a whole, new concepts have been adopted as alternative models to explain the acquisition of knowledge, among them cognitive and interactionist theories – constructivism and social cognition, for example. They are looking for learning as a process of knowledge construction departing from critical reflections involving the active participation of the student, who must learn by interacting with the environment and with other components of the communities to which they belong.

Thus, studies and researches are being implemented by EAD proposals to adapt to the new reality. Nowadays, it is easy to have technological resources that facilitate communication and interaction. This technology brings new experiences from the perspective of distance and time, improving presentation of courses, the role of educators and learners, and the use of new forms of communication to compensate for the absence of physical contact. In addition to this, participation and evaluation can be reformulated to meet the dialectic of teaching and learning at a distance. The proposal for active learning is only possible in environments that generate interaction, collaboration, knowledge production and the possibility of customization or personalization of education. These aspects are directly related to constructivist, reflective, collaborative and interactivist theories that enable autonomous learning processes.

The concept of distance education is related to different situations, its features have more to do with historical, political and social circumstances than with the very type of education itself. These conditions, according to Pimentel, mean that there is a dizzying development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), mediated with satellites transmissions, Internet and multimedia material. So many variables contributed also to diversify the defini‐ tions of what is meant by EAD [12].

Cooperative work facilitates group learning and allows the creation of a deeper knowledge. According to Palloff and Pratt, the development of cooperation requires an environment and an appropriate way to study with the following features: (a) enable student groups to formulate a common goal for your learning process; (b) encourage students to make use of problems, special interests and personal experiences as a resource for motivation; and (c) take the dialogue as a fundamental tool of investigation, as in reference [2].

Collaborative learning development process begins with a plan that would lead to the formulation of a community that glimpses a common goal for learning. One of the steps to increase collaboration in educational processes would be proposing activities that enable students to associate everyday life to the problems presented in the course. Offering students the opportunity to explore and relate their personal experiences in working groups can become an important feature to stimulate participation and discussion related to the subjects they are studying. In this collaborative approach, the course pedagogical program directs the activities submitted to the groups, valuing the collective construction, individual knowledge and the application of this in contexts brought by students to contribute to the solution of the problem.

All these efforts towards the distance education allowed an evolution in educational applica‐ tions, providing countless possibilities, with the convergence of different media technologies, hypertext, online video conferences and wireless technology, leading to many different pedagogical solutions. The resulting software ranges from solutions developed by specific university trainings to corporate integrated solutions packages, which are ready for the development of courses, and tools that can be coupled to other software and environments that provide support to various stages of the educational process. In fact, the biggest concern is not the technological product itself, but the pedagogical proposal of the institution that should be focused on the student and his learning procedure.

example. They are looking for learning as a process of knowledge construction departing from critical reflections involving the active participation of the student, who must learn by interacting with the environment and with other components of the communities to which

328 E-Learning - Instructional Design, Organizational Strategy and Management

Thus, studies and researches are being implemented by EAD proposals to adapt to the new reality. Nowadays, it is easy to have technological resources that facilitate communication and interaction. This technology brings new experiences from the perspective of distance and time, improving presentation of courses, the role of educators and learners, and the use of new forms of communication to compensate for the absence of physical contact. In addition to this, participation and evaluation can be reformulated to meet the dialectic of teaching and learning at a distance. The proposal for active learning is only possible in environments that generate interaction, collaboration, knowledge production and the possibility of customization or personalization of education. These aspects are directly related to constructivist, reflective,

collaborative and interactivist theories that enable autonomous learning processes.

dialogue as a fundamental tool of investigation, as in reference [2].

The concept of distance education is related to different situations, its features have more to do with historical, political and social circumstances than with the very type of education itself. These conditions, according to Pimentel, mean that there is a dizzying development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), mediated with satellites transmissions, Internet and multimedia material. So many variables contributed also to diversify the defini‐

Cooperative work facilitates group learning and allows the creation of a deeper knowledge. According to Palloff and Pratt, the development of cooperation requires an environment and an appropriate way to study with the following features: (a) enable student groups to formulate a common goal for your learning process; (b) encourage students to make use of problems, special interests and personal experiences as a resource for motivation; and (c) take the

Collaborative learning development process begins with a plan that would lead to the formulation of a community that glimpses a common goal for learning. One of the steps to increase collaboration in educational processes would be proposing activities that enable students to associate everyday life to the problems presented in the course. Offering students the opportunity to explore and relate their personal experiences in working groups can become an important feature to stimulate participation and discussion related to the subjects they are studying. In this collaborative approach, the course pedagogical program directs the activities submitted to the groups, valuing the collective construction, individual knowledge and the application of this in contexts brought by students to contribute to the solution of the problem.

All these efforts towards the distance education allowed an evolution in educational applica‐ tions, providing countless possibilities, with the convergence of different media technologies, hypertext, online video conferences and wireless technology, leading to many different pedagogical solutions. The resulting software ranges from solutions developed by specific university trainings to corporate integrated solutions packages, which are ready for the development of courses, and tools that can be coupled to other software and environments

they belong.

tions of what is meant by EAD [12].

Distance education mediated by the internet, that is, an education with its own characteristics, possibilities and risks, has a number of challenges to be overcome in the pursuit of quality education. Initially, we emphasize the need for infrastructure, comprising software, hardware and telecommunication technology. These can be provided by the school itself or through its poles, or even provided by the student himself. However, there is in addition the need for easy handling, as pointed by Palloff and Pratt in [2]. In addition to this, there are the pedagogical level of challenges. Klering, Guadagnin and Biancamano point out some challenges to be overcome for successful distance education, as in [42]:


In this context, it is important to consider the roles of human resources team in providing adequate infrastructure and training to guarantee quality in distance education projects. These projects can be addressed to schools or universities, or companies.

#### **2.4. Human resources management and employee's qualification**

Binotto and Nakayama, in reference [43], explains that until the 1960s, human resources management in companies received simply the name of "personnel department" and "indus‐ trial relations", assuming a limited role of bookkeeping and records. With the evolution of administrative theories, the advent of the Theory of Human Relations, and with also the improvement of the theories of organizational behavior, human resources management started to move towards activities such as selection, definition of positions and salaries, training, benefits and social work.

Nowadays, human resources management tends to align itself more with the organizational strategy and to focus simultaneously on the internal customer (employee) and external costumer (market), as in [34, 13, 35, 44, 45]. In this context, most researchers and managers prefer to call it as people management. For this reason, a transition of the human resources management from a "department" to a "business unit" is observed. The results must be observed far beyond cost reduction and optimization of employee management activities. In other words, human resources management or people management starts to produce both operational results as well as knowledge within the organization. Consequently, the compa‐ nies are able to convert these results into financial resources.

People management in organizational environment has become the object of study and practical performance, more and more intense. This statement stems from the typical phe‐ nomenon of this time such as globalization, outsourcing and new business models. Besides, managers are witnessing a time where technology development and the increasing industrial automation has caused significant changes to organizations, therefore demanding a constant qualification of its workforce [46].

Professional qualification delivers results for individuals, and consequently it will lead to gains for the organization. This qualification can occur both as in-the-job training or out-of-the-job training. According to Esi, educational activities are characterized as operating strategy in the pursuit of quality and productivity in organizational environment [47]. As a result, it enhances versatility, enrichment of tasks and increases employees' responsibility.

Human learning in organizations is divided into two major groups: the natural learning, which is configured by trial and error and the induced learning, which is obtained through carefully planned and structured situations [48].

An important aspect is that qualification involves at least three social actors: government, workers and businesses. So far, government qualification provides a way to ensure the productivity and competitiveness of the country itself, for workers qualification brings a strengthening of their autonomy and self-worth, and for companies that practice is associated with productivity and their own survival [10-11].

#### **2.5. The new roles of human resources and distance education**

Currently, human resources management tends to remodel, aiming to respond to the new challenges posed by the globalized world. There is also the tendency of aligning themselves more with the organizational strategy and to focus simultaneously on the internal (employee) and external costumers (market).

Then occurs a transition of human resources management from the "department" to the "business unit". The results must be observed far beyond cost reduction and optimization of employee management activities. In other words, HR starts to produce both operating results as well as knowledge across the organization, and consequently these results that become financial resources.

Ulrich, in reference [49], advocates that in a company, the current HR task is to achieve organizational excellence. Thus, HR has to assume a new role, focusing on results and not the traditional activities of HR, such as hiring and remuneration. According to the same author, "this sector should not be defined by what it does, but for what it is – results that enrich the company's value for customers, investors and employees" [49, pp.35–36].

Consequently, all of these changes in HR have influenced Training and Development processes (T&D) in businesses. Odenwald and Matheny, in reference [50], explain that the future of the business world trends is reflected even in the terminology, which is now adopted with respect to the development of human resources, such as control for autonomy, supervisor for mentor, competition for collaboration, matrix by network, provider for helpmate and driving by facilitation.

In this context of change, different factors led organizations and individuals to opt for distance education courses in order to keep update and attend market's requirements. On one hand, the inability of the student to have access to classroom teaching due to downtime or costs required to attend traditional classrooms or even the imposition of being constantly updated to meet the labor market requirements. On the other, companies that cannot dispense their employees for daytime training and companies in need of reducing training costs and qualification for many reasons. In response to these needs, not only the educational institutions have been offering this type of education as an alternative to personnel training, as well as the organizations themselves, seeking to qualify employees without interruption at work [35].

Thus, Carnoy emphasizes the importance of educational institutions as sources of knowledge transmission, and because they can also re-insert individuals in new companies built with high information technology [51].
