AAACE American Association for Adult and Continuing Education
AAOU Asian Association of Open Universities
AAU Association of African Universities
ABES Adult Basic Education Society, Pakistan
ACACIA Communities and the Information society in Africa
ACBF African Capacity Building Foundation (Harare, Zimbabwe)
ACCC Association of Canadian Community Colleges
ACDE African Council for Distance Education
ACE American Council on Education
ACESAD Colombian Association for Distance Higher Education
ACIPOL The Police Academy in Mozambique
ACODE Australasian Council on Open, Distance and E-Learning
ACPAC AusAID's Centre for Pacific Development and Training (Australia)
ACSDE American Centre for the Study of Distance Education
ACU Association of Commonwealth Universities
ADB Asian Development Bank
ADEA Association for the Development of Education in Africa
ADF African Development Foundation
AECS Association of European Correspondence Schools
AEZ Agro-Ecological Zone
AFCLIST African Forum for Children's Literacy in Science and Technology
AIBD Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development
AIOU Allama Iqbal Open University
AIT Agency for Instructional Technology
AIU Association of Indian Universities
AMIC Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (Singapore) (formerly the Asian Mass Communication Research and Information Centre)
AMREF African Medical and Research Foundation (Nairobi, Kenya)
AMTEC Association for Media and Technology in Education in Canada
ANTA Australian National Training Authority
APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Community
APRM African Peer Review Mechanism (a key component of the NEPAD initiative)
ASPESA Australia and South Pacific External Studies Association
ASSAFAD Association Africaine Francophone de Formation à Distance
ASTT Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of British Columbia (Surrey, BC)
AU African Union
AU Athabasca University (Alberta, Canada)
AUAP Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific
AUCC Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
AusAID Australian Agency for International Development
AVU African Virtual University
BA Bachelor of Arts
BLA The British Learning Association
(formerly BAOL, British Association for Open Learning)
BARI Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute
BCCIC British Columbia Council for International Cooperation (Victoria)
BCCIE British Columbia Centre for International Education
BOCODOL Botswana College of Open and Distance Learning
BOU Bangladesh Open University
BRAC Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee
BRAOU Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University (Hyderabad, India)
BRRI Bangladesh Rice Research Institute
BTED Bangladesh Technical Education Board
CACC Commonwealth Agencies Consultative Committee
CADE Canadian Association for Distance Education
CAEJC Commonwealth Association for Education in Journalism and Communication (London, ON)
CAETA Commonwealth Association for the Education and Training of Adults (Harare, Zimbabwe)
CAM Commonwealth Association of Museums (Calgary, AB)
CANQATE Caribbean Area Network for Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education
CAPA Commonwealth Association of Polytechnics in Africa
CAPAM Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (Toronto, ON)
CARCAE Caribbean Regional Council for Adult Education
CARICOM Caribbean Community Secretariat
CARNEID Caribbean Network of Educational Innovation for Development
CAST College of Arts, Science and Technology (Jamaica)
CASTME Commonwealth Association of Science, Technology and Mathematics Educators
CBA Commonwealth Broadcasting Association
CBIE Canadian Bureau for International Education
CCDESP Canada-Caribbean Distance Education Scholarship Programme
CCEAM Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management
CCEM Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers
CCI Correspondence Course Institute
CCNC Commonwealth Computer Navigator's Certificate
CDB Caribbean Development Bank (Barbados)
CDLR Centre for Distance Learning Research (Texas)
CEA Canadian Education Association
CEC Consortium for Educational Communication
CEE Centre for Environment Education
CEE Council for Environmental Education (U.K.)
CEMBA/MPA Commonwealth Executive Masters in Business Administration and Masters in Public Administration
CEMCA Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia
CEMCSA Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Southern Africa
CENSE Commonwealth Electronic Network for Schools and Education
CERTWID Center for Research Training and Information for Women in Development (Ethiopia)
CESO Canadian Executive Service Organisation
CET Council for Educational Technology for the United Kingdom
CETV China Education Television
CFTC Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation
CFTP Commonwealth Fellowships and Training Programme
CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
CHEA Council for Higher Education Accreditation
CHEC Commonwealth Human Ecology Council
CHEMS Commonwealth Higher Education Management Service
CHESS Commonwealth Higher Education Support Scheme
CHOGM Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings:
CIAJ Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice
CIDA Canadian International Development Agency
CIDE Centre for International Development and Environment (World Resources Institute)
CIDER Canadian Institute for DE Research
CIE Central Institute of Education, India
CIFFAD Consortium International Francophone de Formation a Distance
CIINED Mozambique Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology and DE Task Force
CIME International Council for Educational Media (Conseil International des Moyens d'Ensignement)
CIRCIT Centre for International Research on Communication and Information Technologies (South Melbourne, Vic.)
CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation
CLEA Commonwealth Legal Education Association
CLLL Canadian Link to Lifelong Learning
CMEC Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (Toronto, ON)
CMS content management system
CODE Canadian Organisation for Development Through Education
CODE College of Distance Education (Papua New Guinea)
COL Commonwealth of Learning
COLISA Confederation of Open Learning Institutions of South Africa
COLME Commonwealth of Learning Media Empowerment
ComSec Commonwealth Secretariat
CONAHEC Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration
COOL Campus of Open Learning
COSIT Correspondence and Open Studies Institute (University of Laos, Nigeria)
CPSC Colombo Plan Staff College for Technician Education (Manila, Philippines)
CREAD The Inter-American Distance Education Consortium
CRIDAL Centre for Research in Distance and Adult Learning (OU, Hong Kong)
CRTC Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
CRTVU Central Radio and TV University (China)
CSC Commonwealth Science Council
CSFP Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan
CSU Charles Sturt University
CTO Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation
CUSAC Commonwealth Universities Study Abroad Consortium
CUSC Commonwealth Universities Student Congress
CYP Commonwealth Youth Programme
DAE Department of Agricultural Extension, India
DANIDA Danish International Development Assistance
DBSA Development Bank of Southern Africa (SA)
DE Distance Education
DEANZ Distance Education Association of New Zealand
DEASA Distance Education Association of Southern Africa
DEATA Distance Education Association of Tanzania
DEC Distance Education Council (IGNOU)
DESA Distance Education Association of South Africa
DESESA Distance Education Studies in Eastern and Southern Africa (project)
DETA Distance Education and Teachers' Training in Africa
DETC Distance Education and Training Council (Washington, DC) (formerly National Home Study Council)
DfEE Department for Education and Employment (UK)
DFES Department for Education and Science (UK)
DFID Department for International Development (UK) (formerly ODA)
DNFE Department of Non-Formal Education, Ministry of Education (Botswana)
EADTU European Association of Distance Teaching Universities
EAIE European Association for International Education
EBU European Broadcasting Union
ECCE Early Childhood Care and Education
ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
EDEA Excellence in Distance Education Awards
EDEN European Distance and E-Learning Network
(formerly, European Distance Education Network)
EDI World Bank-Economic Development Institute
EDNA Education Network Australia
EEC European Economic Commission
EECOM Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication
EFA "Education for All"
EFECOT European Federation for the Education of the Children of the Occupational Travellers (Brussels)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Centre (USA)
ERTCEE European Research and Training Centre on Environmental Education, University of Bradford
ESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
ESRC Economic and Social Research Council (Swindon, UK)
EU European Union
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Rome)
FAWE Forum for African Women Educationalists (Nairobi, Kenya)
FAWEZA Forum for African Women Educationalists of Zambia
FIS Foundation for International Studies
FIT Fiji Institute of Technology
FIT Foundation for International Training (Don Mills, ON)
FOCODLA Federation of Commonwealth Open and Distance Learning Association
FRCH Foundation for Research in Community Health
GATE Global Alliance for Transnational Education
GATS General Agreement on Trade and Services
GDENet Global Distance Education Network
GHADEA Ghanaian Distance Education Association
GKP Global Knowledge Partnership (World Bank initiative)
GMS Gender Management System
GNAT Ghana National Association of Teachers
GOs Governmental Organisations
GTZ German Development Agency
HEQC Higher Education Quality Council (London, UK)
IACE Institute of Adult and Continuting Education, University of Guyana
IADB Inter-American Development Bank
IARC International Agricultural Research Centre
IAU International Association of Universities
IBE International Bureau of Education (UNESCO agency) (Geneva, Switzerland)
IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank agency)
ICAE International Council for Adult Education
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organisation
ICAR Indian Council for Agricultural Research
ICDE International Council for Open and Distance Education
ICDL International Centre for Distance Learning (U.K)
ICEM International Council for Educational Media
I-CONSENT Indian Consortium for Education Transfer of Information
ICRISAT International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
ICSID International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (World Bank agency)
ICT Information and Communications Technologies
IDA International Development Association (World Bank agency)
IDEA Indian Distance Education Association
IDERA International Development Education Resource Association (Vancouver)
IDLN Indonesian Distance Learning Network
IDP IDP Education Australia
IDRC International Development Research Centre (Ottawa)
IEC International Extension College (Cambridge, UK)
IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development
IFC International Finance Corporation (World Bank agency)
IFC International Foundation of Science
IFRC International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
IFS International Foundation of Science
IGNOU Indira Gandhi National Open University (New Delhi)
IIC International Institute of Communications
IIEP International Institute for Educational Planning (UNESCO) (Paris)
IIRM Indian Institute of Rural Management (Jaipur)
IIS Indian Institute of Science
IISD International Institute for Sustainable Development (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
IITA International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
ILO International Labour Organisation (Geneva)
ILRI International Livestock Research Institute
IMAGE International Multi-Channel Action Group for Education
IMPACT International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade
INBAR International Network for Bamboo and Rattan
INCED International Centre for Education in Development (University of Warwick)
INCORE Joint International Programme on Conflict Resolution and Ethnicity (Coleraine, Northern Ireland)
INFLIBNET Information and Library Network Centre (India)
INQAAHE International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education
INSTRAW United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women
IOHE Inter-American Organization for Higher Education
IOSTE International Organisation for Science and Technology Education
IPDC International Programme for the Development of Communication
IPGRI International Plant Genetic Resources Institute
IRC Information Resource Centre (COL Library)
IRFOL International Research Foundation for Open Learning (Cambridge)
IRRI International Rice Research Institute
ISIM International School of Information Management
ISNAR International Service for National Agricultural Research
ISTE International Society for Technology in Education
ITU International Technological University
ITU International Telecommunication Union (Geneva, Switzerland)
ITCA International Teleconferencing Association
IUC International University Consortium (College Park, Maryland)
IVETA International Vocational Education and Training Association
IVTB Industrial and Vocational Training Board (Mauritius)
JADOL Jamaican Association of Distance and Open Learning
KCC Knowledge Connection Corporation (Toronto, ON)
KSOU Karnataka State Open University
KVKs Krishi Vigyan Kendras ('help the farmer') Groups
L&L Literacy and Livelihoods
L3 Farmers Lifelong Learning for Farmers
LEAD Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD International, Inc., New York)
LMS Learning Management Systems
LSS Learner Support Services
MAFSU Maharashtra Animal and Fishery Sciences University
MATE Master of Arts in Teacher Education
MCC Managing Change Conference
MDG Millennium Development Goals
MDI Management Development Institute
MIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (World Bank agency)
MINEDAF Ministers of Education of African Member States
MKCL Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
MSSRF MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, India
MSVU Mount Saint Vincent University
MUN Memorial University of Newfoundland
NAAC National Assessment and Accreditation Council (India)
NAAEE North American Association for Environmental Education
NADEOSA National Association of Distance Education Organisations of South Africa
NALD National Adult Literacy Database
NAMCOL Namibian College of Open Learning
NARES National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems
NCC National Correspondence College (Zambia)
NCCE National Commission for Colleges of Education
NCERT National Council of Educational Research and Training
NCET National Council for Educational Technology (Coventry, UK)
NCHE National Commission on Higher Education
NCHEMS National Centre for HE Management Systems
NCODE National Conference on Open and Distance Education (Australia)
(now: ACODE)
NCTE National Council for Teacher Education (India)
NCVER National Centre for Vocational Education Research
NDEC National Distance Education Council (Ireland)
NEC National Extension College (UK)
NEPAD New Partnership for Africa's Development
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
NIACE National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Great Britain)
NIDEN Nigerian Distance Education Network
NIME National Institute for Multimedia Education (Japan)
NIOS National Institute of Open Schooling (Delhi)
NODE Network for Ontario Distance Educators
NOU Nigerian Open University
NOUN National Open University of Nigeria
NRI Natural Resources Institute
NSSLP Nova Scotia - Sierra Leone Programme
NTA National Training Agency (Jamaica)
NTI National Teachers' Institute (Nigeria)
NVRC National Video Resource Centre (Moorabin, Victoria)
NZAID New Zealand Agency for International Development (formerly NZODA)
NZCS New Zealand Correspondence School
OAU Organization of African Unity
(now the African Union)
OBHE Observatory for Borderless HE
OCOD Organisation for Cooperation in Overseas Development
ODA Overseas Development Administration (U.K.) (Now: DFID)
ODL Open and Distance Learning
ODLAA Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia
ODLQC Open and Distance Learning Quality Council (UK)
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OERs Open Education Resources
OISE Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (Toronto)
OLA Open Learning Agency (British Columbia, Canada)
OLI Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong (now: Open University of Hong Kong)
OLIN Open Learning and Information Network (Memorial University of Newfoundland)
OLSET Open Learning Systems Education Trust (South Africa)
OLT Office of Learning Technologies, Human Resources Development Canada (Ottawa, ON)
OLTC Open Learning Technology Corporation (Adelaide, South Australia)
OS Open Schooling
OTEN Open Training and Education Network (NSW)
OTS Open Training Services (Australia)
OUHK Open University of Hong Kong (formerly Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong)
OUM Open University of Malaysia
OUSL Open University of Sri Lanka
OUT Open University of Tanzania
PAC Project Advisory Committee
PAHO Pan American Health Organisation
PATVET Pacific Association of Technical, Vocational Education and Training
PCF Pan-Commonwealth Forum
PGDDE Post Graduate Diploma in Distance Education
PGDG&C Postgraduate Diploma on Guidance and Counseling
PIRADE Pacific Islands Regional Association for Distance Education
PNGADE Papua New Guinea Association for Distance Education
PREST Practitioner Research and Evaluation Skills Training in ODL
PROAP UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
PSI-DL President's Special Initiative in Distance Learning
QA Quality Assurance
QI Quality Indicators
RASC Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth
RDC Resources Development Consultants
RBM Results Based Management
REFAD Le Réseau d'Enseignement Francophone à Distance du Canada
RETRIDAL Regional Training and Research Institute for Open and Distance Learning
RETRIDOL Regional Training and Research Institute for Distance and Open Learning
RGFS Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship Scheme
RIDALink Research in Distance and Adult Learning Link
RIPA Royal Institute of Public Administration
SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
SACCAR Southern African Center for Coordination of Agricultural Research
SACTED South Asian Consortium for Teacher Education and Development
SADC South African Development Community
SADC-CDE Southern African Development Community - Centre for Distance Education (formerly SARDEC)
SAEU South African Extension Unit
SAIDE South African Institute for Distance Education
SALCC Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (Saint Lucia)
SALT Society for Applied Learning Technology
SAQA South African Qualifications Authority
SARDEC Southern African Regional Distance Education Centre
(now SADC-CDE)
SCOET Standing Committee on Educational Technology (British Columbia, Canada)
SCUP Society for College and University Planning (Ann Arbor, MI)
SDRI Sustainable Development Research Institute (British Columbia, Canada)
SEAMEO - BIOTROP Regional Centre for Tropical Biology
SEAMEO - INNOTECH Regional Centre for Educational Innovation and Technology
SEAMEO - RECSAM Regional Centre for Science and Mathematics Education
SEAMEO - RELC Regional Language Centre
SEAMEO - RIHED Regional Centre for Higher Education
SEAMEO - SEARCA Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture
SEAMEO - SPAFA Regional Centre for Archeology and Fine Arts
SEAMEO - TROPMED Regional Tropical Medicine and Public Health Network
SEAMEO - VOCTECH Regional Centre for Vocational and Technical Education
SEAMEO Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization
SEAMES Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Secretariat
SEEC South East England Consortium for Credit Accumulation and Transfer
SEWA Self Employed Women's Association (India)
SFEU Scottish Further Education Unit
SFU Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, BC, Canada)
SIAST Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology
SICHE Solomon Islands College of Higher Education
SIDA Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
SIDEN Solomon Islands Distance Education Network (Honiara)
SIDT Solomon Island Development Trust
SNA Schoolnet Africa
SOFIA Sharing of Free Intellectual Assets
SOM Commonwealth Senior Officials Meeting
SP Samoa Polytechnic
SPPF South Pacific Peoples Foundation of Canada
SRMS Student Record/Management System
SSA Sub-Saharan Africa
STAMP 2000+ Science, technology and mathematics Programme, COL-co-ordinated project in Southern Africa
STAN Science Teachers Association of Nigeria
STOU Sukhothai Thammithirat Open University (Thailand)
STRIDE Staff Training and Research Institute of Distance Education (IGNOU)
SUCCEED Surrey University Centre for Commonwealth and European Education and Development (UK)
T&T Trinidad and Tobago
TAFE Technical and Further Education (Australia Distance Education Network)
TANUVAS Tamil Nadu University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences
TASC Treatment Accountability for Safer Communities
TECHNISA Technical College of South Africa
TELI Technology Enhanced Learning Investigation Team
TESSA Project Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa
TNAU Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
TNOU Tamil Nadu Open University
TOPNZ The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
TTI Teacher Training Institutions
TVET Technical/vocational education and training
TWOWS Third World Organisation for Women in Science (Trieste, Italy)
UBC University of British Columbia (Vancouver)
UBE Universal Basic Education
UCI University College International (Calgary)
UCLES University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate
UEW University of Education, Winneba (Ghana)
UfI University for Industry
UG University of Guyana
UGC University Grants Commission
UK United Kingdom
UKM Universiti Kebangsan Malaysia
UKOU The Open University (UK)
UN United Nations
UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
UNB University of New Brunswick
UNBC University of Northern British Columbia (Prince George, BC)
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNED Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distantancia (Spain)
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNEVOC UNESCO's International Project on Technical and Vocational Education
UNFAO United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization
UNFPA United Nations Population Fund
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund
UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women
UNISA University of South Africa
UNU United Nations University (Tokyo, Japan)
UP Universiddade Pedagogica, Mozambique
UPE Universal Primary Education
UPNG University of Papua New Guinea
UPOU University of the Philippines : Open University
USAID United States Agency for International Development
USDLA United States Distance Learning Association
USM Universiti Sains Malaysia
USP University of the South Pacific
USQ University of Southern Queensland
UT Universitas Terbuka (Indonesia)
UTECH University of Technology, Jamaica
UTS University of Technology, Sydney
UVIC University of Victoria (Victoria, BC)
UWI University of the West Indies
UWIDEC University of the West Indies Distance Education Centre
UWIDITE University of the West Indies Distance Teaching Experiment (DEFUNCT; replaced by UWIDEC)
VCC Vancouver Community College
VSAT Very Small Aperture Satellite Terminals
VUSSC Virtual University of the Small States of the Commonwealth
WADEA West African Distance Education Association
WADEC Western Australia Distance Education Consortium
WARDA West Africa Rice Development Association
WCET Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications
WEM World Education Market
WFTO World Federation of Technology Organizations (Surrey, BC)
WHO World Health Organization
WICHE Western Intersta te Commission for Higher Education
WINAP Women's Information Network for Asia and the Pacific
WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization
WSP Western Samoa Polytechnic (now Samoa Polytechnic, formerly Western Samoa Institute of Technology)
YCMOU Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (India)
ZADE Zambia Association for Distance Education
ZINADOL Zimbabwe National Association of Distance and Open Learning