Distance education has a long tradition in Sweden. Most universities
and university colleges offer distance courses of varying scope and
orientation. The courses are designed to meet the educational needs of
the individual as well as the society and their purpose is to provide
study opportunities regardless of place of residence and work or family
circumstances. Technology for this – personal computers, fax machines,
interactive video and videophone – is creating further scope for
distance education and has made this a priority development area. The
Swedish Agency for Networks and Cooperation in Higher Education
(Myndigheten för nätverk och samarbete inom högre utbildning) is
responsible for promoting the development of ICT-based education and to
provide information about the different university-level courses and
programmes available through distance education.