PubMed1998
In order to keep up with the rapid advance in knowledge and skills in various industrial sectors, the needs for the life-long learning has increased recently. This is also the case for the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, which has as its aim the education of occupational health specialists. In fact, there are many universities and colleges which have organized some post-graduate courses for the workers. However, most of these courses are for workers who can come to classes in the daytime or evening. In the case of UOEH, it is not enough to organize such type of classes in order to respond to the social needs, because it has to offer an opportunity of life-long learning for all occupational health specialists in all parts of Japan. In order to solve this problem, it is recommended that a distance learning system based on modern information technology such as the internet be organized. In this report, the authors present the distance learning system of Wisconsin University in the USA, and that of Tamagawa Gakuen University of Japan. After evaluating these two systems, a plan for a life-long learning support system of UOEH is suggested, which consists of a distance learning system based on the internet.