Mitigating Higher Educational Challenges through Blended Learning: A Maldivian Experience Ramiz Ali Centre for Open Learning The Maldives National University Male‟, Maldives E-mail: ramiz.ali@mnu.edu.mv ABSTRACT Many higher education providers have opted for blended learning as a modern mode of course delivery to reach isolated communities around the globe. This paper describes how the Maldives National University (MNU) caters to the disadvantaged community of the country who live in a number of scattered islands. It mainly highlights how the University adopted and applied blended learning to reach the citizens of the Indian Ocean archipelago. It also describes the course delivery model being applied, the barriers facing the university in implementing flexible learning and how the challenges are being mitigated. The identified challenges include the negative perceptions of the general public about flexible learning, learners‟ habits and attitudes towards blended leaning, the internet speed and bandwidth issues face by both the students and teachers and, limited qualified teaching staff. Despite the challenges, it is evident that the course delivery model is appropriate and is being effectively applied at the university. In the recent years the flexible learning courses offered by MNU are very popular among the islanders and the demand of the programs has been rising. Records show that in the past six years enrollment in courses offered through blended learning has remarkably increased and has stayed steady. The numbers indicate that the learning model being used by the University is effective for the isolated community of the nation. KEYWORDS Flexible learning, blended learning, block classes, flipped classroom, learning management system 1. INTRODUCTION Maldives is an Indian Ocean archipelago which comprises of a total of 1192 islands. The islands are naturally grouped in 26 atolls but for administrative purposes they are considered as 20 atolls. In 2015, there were a total of 188 inhabited islands in the country with another over 110 islands operated exclusively as tourist resorts. From the remaining islands, over 125 being used for industrial and other purposes but a larger proportion of the nation still remains as uninhabited islands. The Maldives is the smallest nation in the region. The census records of 2014 shows that the population of the country is just over 338,400 and 38% of the population live in the capital city Male‟(National Bureau of Statistics, 2015). The islands are dispersed in an area of over 900,000 square kilometers. However, just about 1% of area is land, leaving the remaining 99% as varying levels of sea. This geographical spread of the country necessitates a reliable sea transport system for citizens to travel among the islands. Even though currently there are ten 95 The International Journal of E-Learning and Educational Technologies in the Digital Media (IJEETDM) 2(3): 95-104 The Society of Digital Information and Wireless Communications (SDIWC), July - 2016 (ISSN: 2410-0439)