In recent years, distance education in China has developed by leaps and bounds. The formulation of national and local distance education laws and policies, as well as the formation and operation of distance education management system and operation mechanism will play an important role in this process, which are outstanding problems in the pilot work of modern distance education in China at this stage. We need to study the policies, regulations and systems of distance education. In view of this situation, we analyze the relevant policies, principles and management systems of distance education in the United States, hoping to find some enlightenment for us to formulate policies and regulations of distance education.

In the research work, we mainly study two kinds of materials. First, American national distance education policies and principles, that is, macro-level policies and principles; The other is the specific policies, principles and regulations of American educational institutions in organizing distance education, that is, the micro-level principles and strategies of specific school-running units. This paper focuses on the analysis of the former and a brief summary of the latter.

Analysis of American Distance Education Policies and Principles

Based on the Report on Copyright and Digital Distance Education, an American distance education policy document (1997), and according to the investigation and analysis of the members of traditional and distance learning higher education, we can know that the main policies and principles of distance education in the United States have the following characteristics.

1. Pay attention to the quality of distance education-pay attention to the continuous qualification appraisal of distance education institutions.

In the United States, institutions providing distance education may be universities, educational institutions and commercial institutions at all levels. The ultimate goal of distance education is different, some are profitable and some are public welfare. Therefore, it is very important to ensure the teaching quality from the interests of learners and society. Therefore, in the principle of running national distance education in the United States, special emphasis is placed on continuously evaluating the qualification and quality of distance education. In addition to the qualification evaluation of the start-up institutions when starting distance education, the quality of running these institutions is also evaluated regularly to prevent the teaching quality of those qualified educational institutions from changing in the process of distance education.

Usually, whether it is non-profit distance education or profit-making distance education, the certification work is carried out by academic groups that evaluate traditional education. There are two kinds of academic groups: regional evaluation groups and small-scale national and professional evaluation groups.

Regional evaluation is usually authorized by some associations, but at the same time, these institutions may also be the targets of evaluation. Whether the distance education provided by the assessed object is course study, degree course or qualification certification, the evaluation criteria are the same as those of ordinary course quality evaluation. The contents involved in the evaluation include: whether there are enough books and media resources, teachers' situation, participation methods, appropriate testing standards, students' academic performance, etc. Most higher education institutions will invite regional assessment teams to conduct assessments, because this is also a necessary process for students to obtain state and state funding.

Small-scale professional evaluation is conducted by professional groups on individual courses, such as the American Law Association and the American Physical Medicine Association.

2. Emphasize universality-the universality of the application level of distance education.

The American government and various educational associations not only support the application of distance education in higher education and adult education, but also encourage kindergartens, basic education and other education at all levels to use the technology and resources of distance education. "There are various distance education courses now, which are suitable for learners at different levels from kindergarten to retirees. With the support of technology, these learners have enriched and expanded their experience in participating in distance education. " [ 1]

At the same time, American distance education policy emphasizes that the application mode and purpose of distance education should be different at different educational stages. The following is a text explaining the distance education curriculum in the K 12 stage, which clearly states the requirements of the distance education curriculum design in this period: "The learning curriculum prepared for the study of K 12 must be consistent with the regional and national curriculum system established around the common core of learning, which will better serve the core spirit of learning and include vocational training for in-service and pre-service educators." [2]?

3. Promote technological diversification-give full play to the advantages of various technologies and media.

Due to the rapid development of science and technology, coupled with various technical means used in distance education for a long time, there are various technical methods and means available for distance education at present, each with its own advantages. Therefore, the national and state distance education strategies of the United States emphasize the rational use of different media and technologies to serve distance education, improve the quality of distance education, and encourage learners to make good use of different types of technologies and resources, such as the Internet, CDs, educational TV programs, etc. , so as to maximize the advantages of various technologies and media.

"We can use not only satellite broadcasting technology, but also many other communication technologies, such as the Internet, compact discs and closed-circuit television, which connect educators, learners and other professionals all over the country and around the world." [3]?

Through the promotion of policies, many teachers and students have been able to consciously use various technical means in the teaching process. For example, many people have used e-mail and online chat rooms to solve the problem of teacher-student interaction in distance education except face-to-face and telephone.