Abstract: There is a growing consensus that e-learning will become a key component in the future delivery of education (Singh and O’Donoghue 2002) and that it has the potential to have a key role in widening opportunities to access to education. This derives from the recognition of the potential benefits of removing geographical and time constraints from educational delivery, increasing access to global resources and achieving significant efficiency gains through sector-wide collaborative development. The consensus is further supported by the view that in the e-society of the future, where ICT and the use of electronic communications will be ubiquitous, e-learning will be widely accessible. This paper is a critical evaluation from a student perspective of a higher education project whose primary aim was to provide new routes of access to better skills, employability and qualifications through a blended online learning approach. An initial pilot study has indicated causes for both celebration and concern. This paper seeks to build on questions raised from this study.