Distance Education

As telecommunications become more widely available, access to K-12, college, and university courses, programs, and services expands. Distance education is the process of providing instruction between a teacher and students when they are separated by physical distance. In some cases, a class may have several groups of students located at different places. A variety of technologies are used to deliver courses and programs to students in distance education programs, including videotape, interactive video, the Internet, CD-ROM, audiotape, and correspondence. Many distance education courses use a combination of delivery modes. Students typically communicate with instructors by telephone, fax, mail, and e-mail. Some instructors also travel to meet with students in person.

What Qualifies Courses and Programs to be Included in ONE?

To qualify for listing in the ONE catalog, distance education Programs have been defined as follows:

Distance education programs are degree, certificate, and minor programs in which at least 50% of the required course work or core courses in the program are available to students in distance learning formats.

To qualify for listing in the ONE catalog under Courses, distance education courses have been defined as follows:

Distance learning courses are courses taught to students who are separated, in part or in all of the course, by time and/or space from the instructor and the campus from which the course originates. Modes of delivery for these classes include: web-based/Internet, videotape, correspondence, video-conferencing, telecourses, CD-ROM, intensives, or combinations of these.

A CAUTIONARY NOTE: OregonONE strives to keep information on our website up-to-date. Since courses and degrees are offered by institutions and not by ONE, however, each institution is the ultimate source of current and correct information. Use the ONE database for your initial search, but be sure to verify accuracy with the educational provider directly.

Distance Education Resources

Suggested Internet resources for information on distance education are:

• The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) provides information on assessment of prior learning, resources in distance and experiential education, and links to other useful sites.
• The companion web site for The Distance Learner's Guide developed by the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications; George Connick, Editor (Prentice Hall). This site contains nearly 1,000 providers of distance education.
• Extensive list of distance education resources created by the Oregon University System.
• Petersons.com
  Offered by the people who put out the Peterson's college guides.
• U.S. News & World Report E-learning website

Reference books that may be helpful include:

• The Electronic University: A Guide to Distance Learning Programs (NUCEA with Peterson's Guides)
• The Independent Study Catalog (NUCEA with Peterson's Guides)
• The Adult Learner's Guide to Alternative and External Degrees in the Information Age (Oryx Press)
• External Degrees in the Information Age by Henry A. Spille, David W. Stewart, and Eugene Sullivan (Oryx Press)
• Thorson's Guide to Campus-Free College Degrees (Thorson's Guide)