Distance Learning CollegeThere was a time in the not too distant past when earning a college degree wasn’t feasible for everyone, even for those who had the intelligence and the drive. For some, the only way they could attend college full time would have been with a full scholarship. Borrowing money might not have been an option for one reason or another, and quitting a full-time job was unrealistic. Perhaps this type of individual had children or an elderly parent to support, or perhaps they needed the job to pay back money borrowed for other reasons. Other potential students couldn’t attend college because being unavailable to their young children was simply out of the question. Paying a babysitter for all the hours needed to attend classroom lectures, study in the library with classmates, and get other class work done was prohibitively expensive, and besides, many parents reject the idea of leaving a child with a sitter for so many hours during their formative years.
In the 1970s, some colleges began to experiment with offering a type of rudimentary distance learning. The instructor held “class” at a scheduled time. These instructional sessions were filmed in a television studio room that was set up like a classroom. The instructor spoke to the camera, wrote things on the board, and referred to texts or other materials the virtual students, who were attending the scheduled class in their own homes, had been assigned to read. With all the advancements of technology, distance learning has gone through several transformations. Video cameras meant schools were no longer tied to offering classes at scheduled times using the television. Now, the schools themselves could create a series of instructional videos that would be included in the distance learning students’ course materials. Students could now watch each video and complete the companion worksheets, quizzes, and other materials at their own pace, then send them to the instructor for grading. The advent of the internet changed the face of distance learning for college students in a number of ways. Students no longer had to mail in or drop off completed work for the instructor’s grading and feedback. Now papers, quizzes, and other required efforts could be submitted virtually as attachments or completed in an online mode. The internet also allowed distance learning classrooms to offer some of the advantages of face-to-face classes that had been lost with the previous types of distance learning environments and may now add to its list of advantages that of a richly interactive experience. Classroom discussion may help lead students into ideas they hadn’t considered on their own, offering an opportunity for the instructor to answer a question that one student poses but that is useful to most students. Online discussion boards designed to permit students to submit work or ideas and comment on one another’s efforts replicate many of the advantages of classroom dialogue. Instructors may also post power points, hand-outs, and even videos for immediate use so that class members no longer have to wait days or even weeks to get materials delivered. The internet also allows instructors to be more available to students. Questions may be answered quickly, and substantial help with projects or simply with understanding an idea is made possible by using email or by posting documents as they are needed. Although college distance learning is becoming more and more widely available and accepted, not all distance programs take place exclusively over the internet. Remember—accreditation is important, especially for college programs that offer an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or even a PhD degree. Although some types of distance learning college programs done completely off site are fully accredited, other programs are a hybrid and require students to spend part of their class time in a physical classroom in front of a flesh-and-blood teacher, surrounded by classmates. In some cases very little time is required in the physical classroom, however, while other programs might divide the student’s instructional time evenly between virtual and physical lessons. Even when they aren’t required to do so by an accrediting agency, many programs offer students the option of taking only some classes either through distance learning modules or face-to-face, while other required courses for a particular degree are designed solely for the physical classroom. However, depending upon the major, this is not always the case. Some schools, such as the University of Phoenix, base their degrees upon online classes only. Even so, this school also offers a number of brick-and-mortar campuses where it offers face-to-face classes for those who require additional support. College distance learning programs vary widely in cost. Those that are under the auspices of private schools generally have considerably higher tuition costs than public university distance learning programs in the student’s home state. However, some distance learning programs are actually less expensive because the savings of not having to maintain a classroom and equipment are passed along to students. Financial aid is available to students attending nationally recognized accredited distance learning programs. Schools such as the University of Phoenix have the requirement that students must be employed full-time, because some of their coursework is directly related to professional life experiences. Happily, students attending this type of school might find that their employers have established some type of tuition assistance or other financial aid they weren’t even aware of. |
Fortunately, a combination of human ingenuity and the internet has created a whole new world of ways to learn. Many people believe the internet marked the beginning of college distance learning, but in fact it began many years before the advent of the internet. The first “distance learning” institutions were actually correspondence schools. Over 150 years ago, the External Programme was offered by the University of London. Columbia University experimented with correspondence school classes based upon the ideas of University of Chicago president William Rainey Harper published near the turn of the 20th century. Correspondence schools blossomed across the landscape, offering everything from a course of study in shorthand to cartooning. Students applied and were admitted, then sent weekly materials which included texts and handouts. They completed assigned work and mailed it back to the school. Once the program was completed, they were awarded a certificate.