You may never know all the personal changes as a result of a student taking your course. Perhaps the students themselves may not realize what changes in attitude or behavior are attributable to anyone particular influence. The course made me consider what was happening in my own life on a broader scale. Everything I studied could be applied to my work, my relationship, or my personal life.

Personal communication

Since the 1960's, women's studies has provided a forum for empowering women within academic settings by making them visible, validating their perspectives and experiences, and providing them with a voice for articulating their concerns. Women's studies has been a relative latecomer to university campuses and is a recent addition to distance education offerings. In fall, 1986, Memorial University of Newfoundland began such a long distance credit course using a multi-media format. Our involvement with the production and delivery has provided an opportunity for us to reflect on the potential of such courses for reaching and empowering isolated women. We have also become aware of the limitations of credit courses and long distance delivery systems for feminist outreach.

Although our experience is with a specific course in a particular region, we believe that what we've learned can be applied to similar efforts elsewhere.

Visibility

Women students and teachers have struggled for visibility at universities. We have been greatly under-represented on faculties, absent from the curriculum or defined from a masculine perspective. The isolation engendered by this exclusion is intensified for women in remote areas beyond the networks and support services of the feminist community. As one of the students remarked:

When I first came here, it was really devastating to me. No one understood me. I had no family here, no one to relate to. If there had been a women's centre, I certainly could have used it then, but I've gotten a lot stronger over the years; I've had to.1