Future Policies for Distance Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Areej ALsaysi Taibah University Saudi Arabia Abstract This study aims to analyze the current status of distance higher education in Saudi Arabia in order to identify a justification for the recourse to a virtual university, the appropriateness of the Saudi learning environment for this type of education, and the requirements of a virtual university. It employs a descriptive approach, collecting statistical data from reliable local and international sources, in addition to conducting personal interviews with admissions deans and other university agents who have a direct link to the subject matter. There are two primary reasons for the lack of appropriateness of a virtual university in the Saudi learning environment: the lack of faculty members and technical staff qualified to deal with the technology required for distance education, and the fact that universities are not technically qualified to activate distance learning. This kind of education has a number of requirements incompatible with the Saudi environment, including: a strong Internet technology infrastructure, including maintenance and technical support around the clock, a trained and qualified human infrastructure to manage this type of learning and develop electronic courses, and faculty that have a positive attitudes towards this way of learning and teaching, are able to develop and remotely manage e-learning courses, and respect electronic communication schedules with students. 1. Introduction The Virtual University represents the latest version of the idea of distance higher education. It also offers the ability to provide all the same services as a traditional university, while being supported by Internet technology and contact points on the World Wide Web. There is a vast increase in the number of universities and educational institutions that have adopted this type of education and started offering curricula and educational materials online, enabling any student anywhere in the world to attend its programs of study. The United States has more than two thousand institutions of higher education that broadcast at least one of their programs or courses on the Internet. According to the National Center for Education Statics [1], the number of students who are enrolled in online education programs is 5,452,100. Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute is the most recent addition to the Michigan Virtual University organization. It was established in 2012 to expand Michigan's capacity to support new learning models, engage in active research to inform new policies in online and blended learning, and strengthen the state's infrastructures for sharing best practice [2]. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has some initiatives in this area, and the girl’s college agency of the Ministry of Education has already begun an ambitious distance education project that uses a satellite system (VSAT) to remotely teach students in more than 100 girls’ colleges throughout the Kingdom [3]. And many higher educational institutions have introduced and are offering eLearning systems as a tool to deliver course content and enhance access to the courses [4]. The Knowledge International University represents the first virtual university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its main goal is to bring higher education to people who are unable to enroll in studies programs at conventional universities. But it only provides Bachelor of Arts degrees in Islmic Studies and only thirty students began formal study in the first year [5]. This indicates that the Saudi environment is still not suitable for this type of education, and highlights the need to improve and develop an educational environment that is more compatible. There does exist an integrated educational system that depends on utilizing modern technologies in the field of e-learning and distance education, which was established in the form of a National Center for e- learning and Distance Education. It supports the educational processes of institutions of higher education, without temporal or spatial restrictions. It was established to achieve the Saudi Kingdom’s mission to disseminate science and knowledge based on Islamic principles and values, to unite the efforts of different universities, and to build a vision for e- learning and distance education that is accessible to all. It aims to both expand and raise the quality of the application of electronic and distance learning in International Journal of Digital Society (IJDS), Volume 7, Issue 2, June 2016 Copyright © 2016, Infonomics Society 1157