Saturday, June 27, 2009

Distance Learning Can Really Be Rewarding As a Regular Course

By: Richard J.S. Johnson

The concept of correspondence education was prevalent in the late 19th century. Education took place by sending and receiving paper through regular mail due to the development of postal service. There was literally no other channel of communication. After the Second World War, the lifestyles of the common people changed drastically. Off-campus courses came into existence in the U.S.A in the early 50's. Today, with the advent of the internet, the world of education has changed dramatically. Two-way interaction became possible with the help of internet. Lectures are now being delivered in the form of video on the net.

Distance learning is a mode of education which is more popular than ever today, reason: convenience and flexibility. In Distance learning, the student does not have to travel to the campus to attend classes on a daily basis. It is specially aimed at those people who are unable to attend campus for the classes. It increases the accessibility and broadens the area of study. The learning material can be exchanged between the learner and the teacher through regular correspondence and/or via net.

Hundreds of colleges, universities and institutions all over the world are offering countless Online Degree courses these days. Degree courses as well as vocational courses and professional courses are all available to students. These courses are especially popular among youngsters who can continue to study while working full-time to earn. This type of learning helps them to fulfill their career objectives at the same time gaining experience. With this mode, students get to study at their own pace, saving a lot of time that could have otherwise gone into waste for traveling to the campus and a lot of money that could have otherwise gone into waste for miscellaneous expenses to stay in the campus. Sometimes students of this particular mode of study do better than regular students who attend classes at the campus everyday.

The United Kingdom has developed and expanded their education system, offering innumerable courses to cater to different sections of students. Even professional courses like business, media, engineering, law etc. are being taught through UK distance learning. If you want to study in this mode, you have to develop yourself into a self-organized student. This mode has proven to be a blessing for thousands of students worldwide who could not have otherwise came to the UK for studying their much sought after British degrees. These are prestigious credentials that the students from all over the world want to achieve. Many courses offer an extensive range of materials including videos, computer disks, audio tapes and annotated texts while some colleges have opened up internet-based classes. But there is one criterion that is just indispensable if you want to achieve your desired degree through this mode of learning, which is self-discipline. Since, the onus of completing the course and getting the degree to advance your qualification or job mobility, you need to be self-disciplined to the core.

Before you get yourself enrolled in a college/institute/university that offers these kind of study programs, check a few things like whether or not the degree is recognized by a government body, the course content and structure, the assessment process, and most importantly, financial assistance. Once you get all these things clear, you can start with your dream lessons.

I am an educationist and self published author. I believes that distance learning courses are no way different than traditional courses. For more information on distance learning, UK distance learning, online education, and online university I recommends you to visit: http://www.RDI.co.uk

Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

What is Accreditation?

By: James Perlick

Accreditation is a set of guidelines and rules in which colleges operate. This set of rules insures students that generally everything within that college will be uniformly kept. This also protects students from unfair practices within a college. These rules make sure that the students are getting treated fairly, classes are taught professionally, and the students are not unduly harmed by the college.

Types of Accreditation

There are two types of accreditation for colleges:

  1. National Accreditation: This is more of a vocational or trade school accreditation and is used mostly for colleges that teach subjects such as culinary, cosmetology, auto mechanics and other trades. There are over fifty accrediting agencies in the United States that make up the national accreditation.
  2. Regional Accreditation: This is the best type of accreditation a school can attain. Regional accreditation is more of an academic accreditation and includes most of the top colleges like state colleges, community colleges, and some of the top private colleges. There are six accreditation bodies that comprise the regional accreditation system.

Transfer Credits

Transfer credits are credits that transfer from one college to another college. Being regionally accredited is the best for transfer credits. For instance, if you take classes at a community college which is regionally accredited most likely these credits will transfer to a state college that is regionally accredited. Most of the time regionally accredited colleges will not accept nationally accredited transcripts for transfer credits. If you have a bachelor's degree from a nationally accredited college the likelihood of attaining a master's degree from a regional college is very slim. They will not recognize your bachelor's as a transferable degree. Transfer credits also vary from one college to the next, so check with the colleges.

Evaluating Colleges

If you are evaluating colleges make sure that the accreditation is the highest of the colleges. For instance if you are comparing two colleges for business degrees and one college is nationally accredited and the other is regionally accredited choose the regional accreditation.

Now, on the other hand if you were choosing a college for a trade such as art, this can be found at a community college or a nationally accredited college. Usually the nationally accredited college has less general education and more hands-on classes. This might be more beneficial for the student.

So compare wisely and know your accreditation.