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The popularity of distance education, particularly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent national lockdowns, necessitates a rethink of how we understand and think about students, and particularly international students in this context. This study explores how the definition of international students is impacted by their "self-perception", within a distance education environment. When accessing higher education, international students are often given extra support and help based on their status, however, in the distance and online learning environment, their self-identification as an international student becomes vital in access to additional support. The results from six interviews and a Facebook focus group (13 participants), showed that international students from the Southern African Development Community studying distance education through the University of South Africa, consider themselves more "local" than "international", due to their geographical closeness to the institution. Yet despite this feeling of closeness and "local", these students are international and do not have access to the resources that a local student might have. The definition of an international student and the support that is allocated to them is vital if distance education, particularly in the online environment, is able to provide access to international education while they remain at home.

Much research in face-to-face contexts outlines the importance of early adjustment on students' higher education experiences. However, few studies have replicated this research in distance learning contexts to unpack the early multifaceted adjustments associated with studying in absence of a physical campus. This is particularly needed from a Global South perspective, where countries like South Africa have become regional hubs for distance learners. To explore distance learners' adjustment experiences, this study analysed results from a Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) with 320 distance learners at the University of South Africa, mixed with qualitative thematic analysis of open-ended questions. The results outlined key factors that impact distance learning experiences for students in South Africa, including demographic variables, class, language, and access to resources. These findings, compared with similar work in face-to-face contexts, suggest areas in need of additional support from distance education providers in South Africa and beyond.

The outward migration of skilled migrants has disproportionally affected the Global South, particularly in countries in Africa, producing what is commonly referred to as 'brain drain'. Within this literature, there has been considerable focus on the future migration intentions of international students, who symbolise skilled migration. However, much previous literature assumes international education must be obtained through physical mobility, despite the growing provision of internationalisation at a distance, whereby students remain 'at home' while studying online or distantly from an institution based 'abroad'. This study has unravelled the future migration intentions of students studying through online distance education, using a questionnaire of 607 South African, Namibian, and Zimbabwean students in relation to four sets of factors: academic and social adjustment, educational and work experience, socio-economic variables, and individual demographic characteristics. Our findings indicate a complex picture of international distance students' future migration intentions and significant differences between students based on country of origin, socioeconomic status, and demographic variables. These findings have particular relevance following the increasing shifts to online distance learning following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Internationalization efforts in higher education have often been categorized according to Jane Knight's binary of "Internationalization at Home" (IaH) and "Internationalization Abroad" (IA). However, a rising number of technology-supported activities have created new opportunities for university internationalization. For example, students can now remain "at home" while using technology to study with an institution or program that is simultaneously located "abroad." We have conceptualized these activities as a new third category called Internationalization at a Distance (IaD). In this article, we introduce the concept of IaD and outline an in-depth case study of an international distance education provider at scale, the University of South Africa.

Access to education is a significant determinant in future success, not only for a country but equally for individuals. Higher Education (HE) thus is an integral part of the Sustainable Development Goals and vital in supporting African development. Despite this, there is often a lack of access to HE in many parts of Africa, distance education can subsequently play an important role in increasing access to education by providing materials online. Even though institutions such as the University of South Africa, a provider of Open Distance Learning (ODL), can open access to HE for many marginalised and peripheral communities, we cannot separate access to ODL education from the debate of access to ICTs. Students in urban areas have a significantly different educational experience to students with poor ICT access in urban, peri-urban and rural areas. This paper explores the nature of access to ICT and how this affects students' ability to access HE.

Much of the research on how social media is embedded into the educational practices of higher education students has a Western orientation. In concentrating on a case study of the varied ways in which African International Distance Education (IDE) students actively use social media to shape their learning experiences, we discuss an under-researched group. The paper draws on analysis of 1295 online questionnaires and 165 in-depth interviews with IDE students at UNISA, South Africa, one of the largest providers of IDE globally. "WhatsApp" emerges as 'the' key social media tool that opens up opportunities for IDE students to "transfer, translate and transform" their educational journey when studying 'at a distance'. Although "WhatsApp" does provide a 'space of opportunity' for some students, this is framed through socio-technical marginalisation, itself a reflection of demographic legacies of inequality. Exploring social media practices though the case of African IDE students places these students centre stage and adds to the awareness of the multiple centres from which international education is practiced.

Learning design approaches, such as those adopted by the Open University, provide a set of tools and resources for purposefully-designing modules with a focus on student experiences. However, many of the current learning design strategies have been situated within specific institutions in Europe and North America. This means that there are several issues worth considering around "if" and "how" established learning design approaches make sense in diverse institutional and cultural contexts. To critically assess the relevance and appropriateness of learning design strategies in new contexts, this article describes an in-depth participatory workshop with 34 education professionals from five African countries. Altogether, 10 suggestions for learning design practices were derived from the consensus of workshop participants, which provide a foundation for the development of learning design practices moving forward.

The international mobility of institutions, staff, students and knowledge resources such as books and study materials has usually been studied separately. This paper, for the first time, brings these different forms of knowledge mobilities together. Through a historical analysis of South African higher education alongside results from a quantitative survey of academic staff in three international branch campuses in South Africa, the paper suggests three things. First, it points to the importance of regional education hubs in the global South and their role in South-South staff and student mobilities. Second, it points to the importance of reading these mobilities as outcomes of historically attuned policymaking--educational, migratory and political. Finally, the paper points to the theoretical possibilities that arise by bringing institutional, staff, student and knowledge resource mobilities in place and suggests new avenues for further research.

The popularity of distance education, particularly since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent national lockdowns, necessitates a rethink of how we understand and think about students, and particularly international students in this context. This study explores how the definition of international students is impacted by their "self-perception", within a distance education environment. When accessing higher education, international students are often given extra support and help based on their status, however, in the distance and online learning environment, their self-identification as an international student becomes vital in access to additional support. The results from six interviews and a Facebook focus group (13 participants), showed that international students from the Southern African Development Community studying distance education through the University of South Africa, consider themselves more "local" than "international", due to their geographical closeness to the institution. Yet despite this feeling of closeness and "local", these students are international and do not have access to the resources that a local student might have. The definition of an international student and the support that is allocated to them is vital if distance education, particularly in the online environment, is able to provide access to international education while they remain at home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outward migration of skilled migrants has disproportionally affected the Global South, particularly in countries in Africa, producing what is commonly referred to as 'brain drain'. Within this literature, there has been considerable focus on the future migration intentions of international students, who symbolise skilled migration. However, much previous literature assumes international education must be obtained through physical mobility, despite the growing provision of internationalisation at a distance, whereby students remain 'at home' while studying online or distantly from an institution based 'abroad'. This study has unravelled the future migration intentions of students studying through online distance education, using a questionnaire of 607 South African, Namibian, and Zimbabwean students in relation to four sets of factors: academic and social adjustment, educational and work experience, socio-economic variables, and individual demographic characteristics. Our findings indicate a complex picture of international distance students' future migration intentions and significant differences between students based on country of origin, socioeconomic status, and demographic variables. These findings have particular relevance following the increasing shifts to online distance learning following the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]