…If it is impossible to bring the throngs of those thirsting for knowledge to the university, could we not bring the university to them? (…) Universities should emerge from behind their walls and seek out those who cannot come to them of their own accord.'
(Sewell, Oxford, 1850)

Times are long past when teaching and learning of disabled persons at higher education level took place exclusively in the lecture rooms of universities. Open learning and distance education as well as the new communication technologies have for a long time now offered additional educational opportunities to all those who, for a variety of reasons, cannot study at traditional face-to-face Universities. Distance study, open and flexible learning have firmly established themselves in the different education scenes worldwide as a viable alternative for the disabled and the chronically ill.

These systems with their flexible teaching and learning offers enable a continuously increasing circle of disabled or chronically ill persons to adapt to the rapidly changing conditions in their life and learning environment, their profession and society in general.

In many European and non-European countries distance study constitutes an important component of the higher education system. Models for the studies of disabled persons are influenced by the different national education systems but they do resemble each other.

We live in an age of bits and bytes, characterized by fundamental changes in society and technology. Distance teaching using the new technologies can play a special role for these target groups in their efforts to adapt their individual living conditions to the changes in society.

Within the context of the European education system distance study is especially important for the disabled. This is particularly true when seen against the background of increased co-operation between higher-education institutions and industry on the one hand and the growing mobility and improved education standards of European citizens on the others hand. This is highlighted by the special mention of distance education in the Maastricht Treaty (cf. Art. 128) as well as the EU-Commission Report and Memorandum on Open and Distance Learning in Higher Education.

The group of students we are looking at constitutes 13% of all students; 10% define themselves as chronically ill, 3% as disabled.^.Altogether they make up the 13% who are seriously impended in 1995. It is a specific remit of the distance-teaching universities to support this group.

The increasing tendencies towards individualization require an alternative and reliable support system in distance study. This necessity arises above all because more and more disabled people prefer autonomous ways of life and stop expecting inclusive care. The paradigm, 'to determine one's own life' is an expressing of the changed way in their own choices and an independent way of living, independently of the types and severity of their disability.

Parallel to this the relationship between disability and society is now viewed differently. There is a new approach to the provision of services and, at the same time, change in traditional work with the disabled. Although any type of consciousness change will take some time and will not produce any comprehensive results overnight, major changes are indeed taking place in many areas of the disabled's lives. These changes require society to break away from the traditional, deficit-oriented understanding of disability with its tendencies towards all-encompassing care and the claims of representation, They make it necessary to turn towards new ideas meaning a view of disability that is oriented towards the needs of the individual.

The disabled can, however, only realise autonomous forms of study and living if they can rely on a system of services and aids that cater for their individual needs and guarantee continuous and reliable security.

The current international discussion on the integration of minorities illustrates that a lot is demanded of distance study in this respect in the educational sector; all higher- education institutions are expected to readily co-operate in adapting study conditions to the needs of the disabled and to encourage this target group. Over the last years 'Integration' has been the focus of discussion in educational policy, the methodology of teaching in higher-education and pedagogic. Those concerned and their associations demand an integration of the disabled into the higher-education system with sometimes great commitment to that cause.

This integration of the disabled presupposes greater competence in distance-teaching universities relating to organization and contents of the studies for the disabled. A lot of movement is visible here in the European Community. As a result of the internationalization of study organization, flexible education and training offers for the disabled can be developed, tried and developed further.

But face-to-face universities can also supplement their programme with distance-study modules that are adapted to the needs of the disabled.

In many post-modernistic societies with their partly diverging education concepts and manifold educational intentions, various types of distance-study, independent of time and place, play a not inconsiderable role for disabled citizens.

In the course of this development, international structures - including those in the areas of distance education and research - should grow into an international distance education landscape for the chronically ill and the disabled. Distance study can play an important role as an innovative element in European education and training. This is a declared aim of the European Union. The EU supports a number of projects which complement and support the promotion of open and distance learning on a national level. It has developed a number of new initiatives that are designed to enable people with a handicap to study at a distance. This is possible because distance learning courses can be tailored to learning and teaching methods that are accessible to all, no matter what their handicap.