Institutional and Organizational Systems
Educational systems pick up where the basic infrastructure systems leave off. For example, learners taking part in on-site programs expect a safe location and reasonable access from the parking lot or bus stop to the classroom, and distance learners expect the institution to provide them with the materials and support they need to be successful in their studies.

Learners also expect educational providers to address some basic social access. They expect to be able to contact registration and counseling staff and instructors in person or over the phone and they expect that the learning environment will be hospitable, support their needs as learners, provide relevant and appropriate education or training and offer fair and equitable assessment of their learning achievements.

Distance education experience demonstrates that provision of access is far more than delivery of information. The quality of the teaching/learning interaction among learners and instructors or facilitators, access to library and other resources, assistance with study skills, and access to academic and personal counseling are essential for a successful learning experience.

Addressing social barriers to learning
Many people have had limited opportunities to learn earlier in their lives, due to social factors such as gender, income, class, race, language, ability. In addition to the tradition of providing physical access to learning, a number of educational providers offer either mainstream or special programs to serve those whose access to learning has been constrained by social barriers.

Customized programs offered by Canadian education institutions for learners facing social barriers reinforces the principle that providing access means more than simply providing a course or a place; it also includes services that help students achieve success. These include academic and personal counseling, community based support systems and prior learning assessment.

These systems rely far more on committed and competent staff than on technology. As Dr. Ross Paul, president of Laurentian University, comments:

If institutions ... are to be more successful in the future in attracting and keeping disadvantaged students, they must emphasize practical solutions to overcoming barriers to learning faced by specific populations, rather than attempt to apply a fixed technological solution to every problem. ... This demands an institution that is flexible, open and forever requisitioning the way it operates. An open university will not live up to its name very long if it institutionalizes its technology-if, as is so often the case, its way of doing things becomes as rigidly applied as traditional classroom teaching.¹⁰

Accessibility, budgets and technology
While some new technologies offer the potential for increased interaction and flexibility for learners, virtually all new technologies require increased investment in staff time. For example, computer conferencing can be used for ongoing discussions that enable learners to build on each others' knowledge and experience, but this medium also requires significant staff time to structure and facilitate the conference, as well as an investment by learners in access to the technology. If this technology is introduced to save time and money, it may be disappointing on that score.

The challenge at the institutional level is to take advantage of new technologies without sacrificing the interests of those whom the institution has traditionally served. While some may make special provisions to ensure technologies are available, others may find it difficult to maintain existing, accessible programs and meet the staffing and budget requirements of new technologies, especially in the current climate of cutbacks.

Some institutions may resolve this by deciding to serve only those who have access to the new technologies, with the risk that there will be "have" and "have nor learners, and "have and "have not" educational providers, in terms of those who can afford and use new learning technologies and those who cannot.

While many educational providers are investing in new technologies, a number of questions remain about how these are to be used and whether they will improve accessibility in the long run. Here are some specific questions that can be addressed to these providers:

• Who will have access to programs offered by this technology, and how does that compare with who had access before this technology was introduced in terms of numbers, gender ratio, location, financial requirements, and so on?
• What has been invested in this technology, and will this cost be covered by sponsors, by learners, or by the institution?
• If learners are required to have access to a particular technology in order to take a course or program, how can they gain access to this technology and to training in how to use it?
• What support is available to help educators learn to use this technology for instructional purposes?
• What is the total investment in computers and software at this institution? What is the investment in part time instructional staff?