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Globalization is the word used to describe the growing interdependence of the world’s economies, cultures, and populations brought about by cross-border trade in goods and services, technology, and flows of investment, people, and information. Countries have built economic partnerships to facilitate these movements over many centuries. Since ancient times, humans have sought distant places to settle, produce, and exchange goods enabled by improvements in technology and transportation. But not until the 19th century did global integration take off. Following centuries of European colonization and trade activity, the first “wave” of globalization was propelled by steamships, railroads, the telegraph, and other breakthroughs, and also by increasing economic cooperation among countries. The globalization trend eventually waned and crashed in the catastrophe of World War I, followed by postwar protectionism, the Great Depression, and World War II. After World War II in the mid-1940s, the United States led efforts to revive international trade and investment under negotiated ground rules, starting a second wave of globalization, which remains ongoing, though buffeted by periodic downturns and mounting political scrutiny. Globalization trends influence the fundamental institution of social life – education. Scientists note that the formation of social classes and the differences between them in our time are not due to the origin – as it was 100 years ago – but to the quality of the education acquired. Globalization processes in higher education are especially noticeable. Not only had the teaching methodological base changed due to the active use of information technologies, electronic educational environments, distance education courses, and online learning. Universities exist in a market economy, competing not only among themselves within the country, but also with other ones from different countries. The increased competition is partly due to the possibility of an increasing number of universities to teach online (a teacher and a student can be thousands of miles apart), with the active use of learning environments. Thus, the education system in the 21st century is under significant changes in connection with the processes of globalization and due to the active development of information technology. Currently, a new form of higher education – online learning - is developing and spreading all over the world. Leading universities in the world are interested in spreading their educational programs and courses outside their own countries. To increase competitiveness, educational institutions can expand online learning systems based on information technologies combined into a specialized learning environment that allow them to retain the existing amount of students and offer a better and more convenient educational service at competitive prices. Access, inequality, and exclusion are topics of major importance in developing and developed countries' efforts to use Online and Distance Education as a means to respond to the forces of globalization. Access is given higher priority – inequality and exclusion are more deeply rooted in any society and economy. The influence of globalization on socio-cultural, economic, political and technological factors had been reflected in universities' mission statements and also influenced what happened in practice. Response to these issues might be context-specific Online and Distance Education and Flexible Learning solutions, new pedagogy that is more aware of students' needs and alternative, tailor-made modes of Open and Distance Learning and Flexible Learning.
