Distance education is becoming increasingly popular in many campuses across the country as an unconventional means of education. As students live more mobile and unpredictable lives, deciding to spend a semester on campus has become challenging.
To define distance education according to California Distance Learning Project, it is an alternative means of high-quality education and training for students who cannot take conventional educational programs on a campus. Distance learning is an instruction delivery system that connects learners with education resources and access not enrolled in educational institutions, as defined by the.
Not to be confused with open learning, flexible learning and online learning, distance learning is less a philosophy and more of a method of education. Students study on their own times at their preferred place without the need for face-to-face contact with a teacher, Fay Observer said.
Similar to the growing popularity of online courses, distance education is increasingly sophisticated and effective. Research from California shows that distance education programs have met the three crucial benefits of an accepted adult education provider: effective, efficient and equitable.
In distance education program, students earn credit by completing a unit of construction and passing a comprehension test before allowing in advancing on the next assignment. The program then rewards the outcome of a student's performance, instead of the time a student spends in the classroom.
More students are citing work conflicts as the reason for pursuing distance education instead of problems with distance or travel. The main reason why most students undertake distance education course is due to the flexibility the program provides. Many of these students have worked and family commitments giving them many conflicts for face-to-face classes.
Fayetteville State University (FSU) located in North Carolina started with 641 distance learning students in 2012. Since then, the number has more than doubled to 1,561 today.
Similarly, the number of students on campus has dropped to 4,521 to 3,886. This has allowed revenue cutting in campus health centers and students fees.
Unfortunately, while schools are serving more students in total, they are getting reduced appropriations from the state as explained by Ken Craig, FSU's vice chancellor for business and finance. The state, unfortunately, does not recognize and reflect distance education programs in university budgets.
