This major international conference will explore global issues in distance learning, with a special emphasis on issues of concern to Pacific Rim Universities. The four themes of the conference are infrastructure and technology trends, university level programs, pre-university programs, and the economic and human development opportunities of distance learning. Co-sponsored by the University of Southern California, the Lucent Technologies Foundation, and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), this conference will bring together leading distance learning experts from academia, business, and government from around the world. A primary objective is to foster new international distance learning projects and partnerships around the Pacific Rim.