For those who have long left school but are now considering enrolling in further education, a distance education degree will prove perfect. A distance education degree allows you to climb the career ladder and enhance your knowledge in your own time, at your own pace - and you need not give up work in the process! Thanks to the wonders of new technology, distance-learning education is more accessible than it ever has been before, and colleges and universities across the world are now able to offer the same high quality academic resources that would be expected through on-campus learning.
A distance education degree offers students the flexibility they require to fit learning around their own lives. Students are able to complete assignments and participate in class discussions whenever it suits them. A distance education degree is ideal for students with mobility problems; they need not worry about traveling to lectures on a regular basis, and all studying can be completed in the comfort of their own homes.
A distance learning degree can prove just as valuable as a traditional education degree. Oftentimes, the course materials available online are exactly the same as those provided to on-campus students. Online distance education degree students may pay the same tuition as their on-campus counterparts. The final qualification received may even prove to be exactly the same as the on-campus equivalent.
Distance education degree students may find that it is more difficult to study online due to the lack of immediate feedback from their tutors. Students studying for campus-based education programs often have the advantage of being able to visit their professor's office whenever they feel the need to and they benefit from face-to-face peer support. While the majority of distance education degree students have the option of partaking in online discussions, tutor feedback may not be received in such a timely manner and peer support may be harder to come by.
Online degree programs offer students the chance to pay for their classes as they take them. Students with full time jobs therefore have the opportunity to learn as they earn. As distance education degree program learning is conducted online, in a location of the student's own choosing, a student is able to save on the costs of gasoline as well as student housing and dining costs. Students are required to provide their own technology to ensure that online learning is possible. Students will require regular access to a computer connected up to the Internet and they may be required to purchase addition equipment such as computer printers and high quality speakers in order to complete their course. Certain distance education degree programs may offer partial online study: students may be required to attend classes on-campus on an infrequent basis.
Distance education degree programs are best suited to self-motivated, committed individuals. Students must be capable of adapting to learning in new ways and meeting deadlines on time in the absence of someone to constantly remind them. Students who work well with little help from others are likely to benefit from learning through distance education.
