Please explain Distance Education.

Distance Education (DE) is an educational delivery system which provides educational access to learners not enrolled in educational institutions. The implementation of DE enhances the learning opportunities of current students as it uses available resources and evolves to incorporate emerging technologies.

The American education system, within rapid technological changes, is challenged with providing increased educational opportunities without increased budgets. In response to this challenge, many educational institutions have developed distance education programs. Distance education, at its most basic level, takes place when a teacher and student(s) are separated by physical distance and are brought together with the help of technology (i.e., voice, video, data, and print).

These type of programs are second chances for adults at college education while can help those disadvantaged by limited time, distance or physical disability. DE updates the knowledge base of workers at their places of employment.

DE courses vary greatly in scope, level, and length. While some have a few assignments and require only a few months to complete, others have a hundred or more lesson assignments requiring three or four years of conscientious study.

Historically, most distance education courses were vocational in nature, but today, in the era of computers and internet, courses are offered for academic, professional, and avocational purposes to students of all ages. Distance education is available in practically any field, from accounting to zoology. It is also available for all, from visually impaired to those who have problems in hearing. Courses are also offered in gemology, high school diploma, journalism, locksmithing, child day care management, yacht design, and many fascinating subjects.

In North America, during the year 2000, over 1000 degree and certificate programs from nearly 900 accredited institutions were offered by distance learning. Board of Online Universities Accreditation (BOUA) is continually offering new courses and programs through distance methods.

Can you clarify the meaning of Accreditation?

The meaning of the word "accreditation" has changed many shades over the years. Distance education accreditation is a certification by a recognized body that an institution has voluntarily undergone a comprehensive study and peer examination that has demonstrated that the institution meets the established standards. The most important factor must be that the institution should perform the functions that it claims. If it does, then after inquiring a little more, the institution will be declared fit for distance education training.

In other words, accreditation assures the student that the institution operates on a sound financial basis, has an approved program of study, qualified instructors, effective recruitment and admission policies, adequate facilities and equipment and advertises its courses truthfully.

Why at all become accredited?

Accreditation provides an opportunity to improve the educational quality of your institution. It provides means of evaluating and comparing your curriculum, facilities, and procedures with those of your competitors. In accreditation, a body grants public recognition to an institution after it has found it to have met certain standards. However, the greatest value of accreditation is to be found in undergoing the process itself, a process of self-evaluation in which an institution voluntarily monitors and controls its own behavior to ensure that its "programs and policies embody standards of good practice."

» Accreditation is purely a voluntary act. The applicant institution voluntarily elects to apply for accreditation and agrees to comply with all standards and policies of the Commission.

» Accreditation is a process where a non-governmental organization reviews the integrity and good faith of an institution and its officers.

» The applicant institution must prove to the Accrediting Commission that it meets or exceeds the standards. The burden of proof in demonstrating compliance with standards rests with the institution, not with the Commission.

» Accreditation is a formal, but nonetheless, collegial process. It works best when there is a common agreement between the two parties that the chief purpose for seeking accreditation is the identification of soundness, honesty and quality in the practice of distance education.