The presentation contains the analysis of the experience of e-learning development in Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU) and «Siberian Open University» Association and the impact of e-learning on life quality improvement in Siberian region in Russia.

Russian universities have always played an important role in cultural, social and economic development of their regions. Recently, the functions of universities in Russia have considerably expanded. Besides traditional higher education programs, universities are responsible for:

• pre-university training of pupils – future university students;
• establishing different resource centers, which contributes to the development of resource base of general and professional education (lower, middle and higher level);
• establishing networks of university branches in regions;
• development of university-level education quality system and its methodological and technological base;
• enhancing development of corporate learning (providing courses, as well as methodological and technical support for e-learning).

Thus, today the role of universities is much more significant due to the work with school pupils, lower level professional education students and their teachers; sharing experience with regional education administration; and collaboration with corporate learning organizations.

However, all this work only becomes effective if it integrates e-learning technologies and methods. For instance, ICT helps to overcome the problem of considerable differences in the levels of development of central and peripheral parts of the country caused by remoteness of some regions. Resource centers established in remote towns provide students and their teachers with electronic learning materials, Internet access, opportunities to organize videoconferences with the university, etc. Moreover, ICT drastically improves the quality of education in university branches.

At first, e-learning was developed to enhance distance learning. Later, it started developing as an independent type of integrated educational activity. Today it has a considerable impact on life quality improvement in a region on account of the following processes.

1. E-learning stimulates intensive use of ICT by teachers, learners, and parents, which allows them to develop new teaching and learning knowledge and skills.
2. It provides equal access to higher education, thus helping to overcome socio-economical differences between individuals as well as regional communities and to compensate for low level of population mobility. For instance, Novosibirsk State Technical University provides blended learning programs based on e-learning technologies (http://ido.nstu.ru/education/info.php) (virtual learning environment with student and teacher accounts, forum, online workshop, remote testing system and other e-learning tools). Blended courses are taken by Russian-speaking students from different regions of Russia and Kazakhstan. At the moment, applications are also being received from European countries.
3. Development of e-learning at university level helps to promote ICT integration into school and college curricula through ICT resource centers, in-service teacher training, technical support, etc. to raise quality of teaching and level of education in general – especially in rural areas. Here are some examples of educational and informational resource centers that perform these functions:
   • Information Technologies in Language Teaching Centre of NSTU (http://www.itlt.edu.nstu.ru/),
   • Distance pre-university training Centre of NSTU (http://cddo.edu.nstu.ru),
   • Distance part-time physics and mathematics School (for pupils), Distance Shools «Young biologist» (http://ido.tsu.ru/school_biolog.php) и «Young Chemist” in Tomsk State University (TSU) (http://ido.tsu.ru/schools/chem) and other resource centers of TSU, which use satellite technologies for teaching.

   Such improvement of learning conditions makes population more educated, increases its mobility, and improves investment attractiveness of the region.

4. E-learning allows to develop new approaches to corporate learning and reduce its costs and thus to create new opportunities for in-service staff training in large corporations with a number of affiliates such as telecommunication and power engineering companies.
5. The need for implementing high-quality e-learning programs stimulates establishing different unions that allow to combine efforts of several organizations. Therefore, the development of e-learning stimulates the processes of establishing institutional mechanisms of civil society development through regional and country-wide professional networks, vertical and horizontal associations of educational institutions, etc.

For example, «Siberian Open University» Association established in 1998 (http://ou.tsu.ru) unites more than 30 large universities of Siberia and Far East. One of its main goals is enhancing the development of distance learning and e-learning at all levels of education in these regions. The Association has successfully implemented a series of large interregional projects funded from federal budget and aimed at integrating ICT in education in these regions.

Further development of ICT and e-learning has lead to the necessity to evaluate the efficiency of investments in these fields. In 2005, 6 universities from the largest Siberian regions (Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Altai and Altai Republic) implemented an interregional project aimed at monitoring of ICT integration in education in regional schools and its impact on education quality. In order to achieve the project objective, special software was developed and collected data were processed. The main research findings were the following:

• the obtained data are necessary for decision-making in the sphere of ICT in education;
• expansion of monitoring coverage is needed for more accurate examination of the impact of ICT integration in education on life quality in the region. Currently an international consortium is being established, which will work towards this goal in the frames of an international project.

Rapid processes of integration of e-learning in different programs implemented by the university bring forth the need for:

• changes in the organizational structure of the university (opening different resource centers, as well as centers that will provide software and normative and technological support);
• development of new mechanisms for management and interaction in this field both within the university and beyond. However, it is hindered by an important contradiction, which is hard to overcome: on the one hand, in remote regions today only large universities have competent specialists and technological base that enables them to implement and support all aspects of e-learning. On the other hand, not all university top-managers realize the crucial importance and integrating potential of e-learning development and support, along with other important lines of development. Besides, it is well-known that universities are usually reluctant to organizational changes.

Therefore, it becomes obvious that there is an urgent need for different projects aimed at the development of management mechanisms and optimal organizational structures for universities that will both allow the implementation of e-learning programs and consider individual features of different universities and regions. Such projects must be ultimately aimed at the improvement of life quality in the region and provide adequate monitoring.

The presentation was prepared on the basis of the work that has been done in Novosibirsk State Technical University (http://ido.nstu.ru) under the direction of Prof. Yu. Afanasiev and Prof. V. Guzhov, as well as the work that has been carried out in «Siberian Open University” Association under the direction of its President, Prof. G. Mayer, and Executive Director, Prof. V. Demkin, Tomsk State University. The author appreciates the assistance of Prof. M. Bovtenko and Assist. Prof. N. Kocheturova (NSTU) in preparing this presentation.