Accesibility and quality of education especially for higher education has been a constant concem for the developing countries including South East Asian countries. Open and distance education (ODL) system seems to be the answers for increasing accesibility because of its cost effectiveness and flexibility. This article adresses efforts in expanding the quantity and improving quality in some ODL institutions in South East Asia. This article also presents specific exsperience and lessons learnt from Indonesia, particularly Universitas Terbuka, in responding to the issues of quantity expansion, improvement of student participation in higher education, and continual quality improvement of ODL.