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We interviewed 16 individuals who were involved in the design, planning, or implementation of online learning. Participants reported their universities experienced significant impacts on organizational structure and roles. Many saw an increased focus on learning and teaching. Access, revenue generation, and technology were identified as drivers of online learning; traditional learning and teaching practices were shifting; challenges experienced included resistance to change and lack of dedicated resources; and effective, visionary leadership was seen to be critically important. We propose that the roots of today’s challenges and opportunities in online learning may be found in the experiences of distance educators who were early adopters.  \nKeywords: organizational change, distance education, online learning, Canadian universities  \nRésumé  \nNotre étude qualitative explore la transition dans sept universités canadiennes qui sont passées à l’apprentissage en ligne entre 2002 et 2017 et comptent parmi les premiers fournisseurs d’enseignement à distance. Nous avons interrogé 16 personnes qui ont participé à la conception, à la planification ou à la mise en œuvre de l’apprentissage en ligne. Les participantsont indiqué que leurs universités avaient subi des changements importants en ce qui concerne la structure organisationnelleet les différents rôles. L’accessibilité, la génération de revenus et la technologie ont été désignées comme des facteurs du passage à l’enseignement en ligne; les pratiques traditionnelles d’apprentissage et d’enseignement ont évolué; les défis rencontrés comprennent la résistance au changement et le manque de ressources spécialisées; et un leadership efficace et visionnaire a été mentionné comme un élément crucial. Nous proposons que les racines des défis et des occasions d’aujourd’hui en matière d’apprentissage en ligne se retrouvent dans les expériences des éducateurs à distance qui ont été parmiles premiers à adopter cette approche.  \nMots-clés : changement organisationnel, enseignement à distance, apprentissage en ligne, universités canadiennes  \nIntroduction  \nThe challenges facing higher education in the 21st century are well documented. Higher education is shaped by social, technological, economic, and political trends including demographic changes, calls for greater equality and access by non-traditional students, technological advancements, questions about the future of work and skills, and declining government support (Cameron,  \n2002; EDUCAUSE, 2020; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2019) . These challenges and questions have inspired calls for higher education change and reform in Canada and beyond (Brown, 2013; Hughes & Mighty, 2010) . Global participation in higher education has steadily increased in recent decades (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2018); Canada has experienced significant growth during this same period (Statistics  \nCanadian Journal of Higher Education | Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur 51:1 (2021)   \nCanada, 2020) . World-wide participation in online learning has also increased (Palvia et al., 2018). With the first learning management systems, educational institutions began to experiment with web-based courses and teaching environments, and online learning was poised to become part of the mainstream of higher education by the beginning of the 21st century (Weller, 2020) .  \nAs distance educators, former vice presidents, and change agents with more than 25 years’ experience in Canadian higher education, we identified the need for a study to explore the experiences of distance educati","cbCaipWxYvE6ugad","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipWxYvE6ugad","pdf",172339,13,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n# Distance Education and Online Learning","[{\"question\":\"What was the study’s focus and time frame for transition to online learning?\",\"answer\":\"The study explored how seven Canadian universities transitioned from distance education to online learning between 2002 and 2017, focusing on educators’ experiences during that shift.\"},{\"question\":\"Who participated, and what roles did they have?\",\"answer\":\"Sixteen individuals participated; they were involved in the design, planning, or implementation of online learning.\"},{\"question\":\"What were the main drivers and challenges identified for online learning?\",\"answer\":\"Drivers included access, revenue generation, and technology, while challenges included resistance to change and a lack of dedicated resources. The findings also emphasized the importance of effective, visionary leadership.\"}]","Perspectives of Canadian Distance Educators on the Move to Online Learning | PDF",1792083981,33]