**1. Introduction**

This chapter focuses on increased access to higher education that has resulted from E-Learning and reviews the literature addressing (a) students with disabilities, (b) rural students, (c) students with parental responsibilities, and (c) students currently serving in the military. A discussion of potential international collaborations that can occur thanks to the online environment is also included.

The National Center for Education Statistics [1] defined distance education as:

a formal educational process in which the instructor and the student are not in the same location. Thus, instruction might be synchronous or asynchronous, and it may involve communication through the use of video, audio, or computer technologies, or by correspond‐ ence (which may include both written correspondence and the use of technology such as CD-

ROM)...Hybrid/ blended online courses were defined as a combination of online and in-class instruction with reduced in-class seat time for students. (para. 1)

E-Learning in higher education has reached many unique populations. Students who have accessed higher education through E-Learning include (a) students with disabilities [2-7], (b) rural students who find it difficult to relocate [8-13], (c) parents with children [6, 14, 15], (d) military personnel [16-18], (e) students working full time [6, 19], and (f) urban students who find it easier to time-shift rather than space-shift [20, 21]. Renes and Strange [22] pointed out, "The National Center for Education Statistics reported in the 2006-07 academic year, 66 percent of the 4,160 2-year and 4-year Title IV degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the nation offered college-level distance education courses" (p. 204).

Students who have done well in E-Learning formats include:

(a) adult learners [23], (b) students who are self-directed learners [24], (c) students in rural areas [8, 25], (d) students who value interdependence [26], (e) students who must remain employed and require flexibility [25], and (f) students needed by their communities [8, 27]. [22, p. 204]
