A recent poll of 250,000 students from 523 universities conducted by the National Survey of Student Engagement indicated that students pursuing education online reported:

1. higher levels of academic challenge than on-campus counterparts
2. were more satisfied overall with their educational experience
3. reported greater developmental gains.

There are almost 3.5 million students studying by distance learning, so you are not alone in choosing this method of study.

* 60% of employers polled believe that online education is as good or better than campus-based programs

* 62% of academic leaders believe that online education quality is equal to or superior to face-to-face instruction.

Benefits of Online Education
Distance learning makes it possible for people juggling the demands of work and family to reach their educational goals without sacrificing their jobs or time with their families. Online learners find real value in saving time not having to commute to class… and the associated cost savings!

Additional benefits include accessing coursework from anywhere at any time - all one needs is a laptop, even though many of the courses have manuals and books that one can carry anywhere. In addition, many of the courses have downloadable .pdf files that one can have on the laptop server and read while traveling - it is possible to accumlate a whole library of material to read where ever you are, at a time that is convenient to you.

Distance learning offers the flexibility to complete much of the course work according to your own schedule. You might choose to read a chapter during a lunch break or take a quiz after the kids are in bed. Whatever schedule you choose, there are still deadlines and timelines associated with Distance learning. The ability to manage time is vitally important to meet the demands of distance education.

Do you prefer to take time to respond thoughtfully to issues? Learning by distance allows students the time to reflect on new material. Some find this to be an advantage over interaction in a classroom-based setting where it happens in real-time.

Are you open to using new technology? Although most online education courses employ commonplace technology such as email and discussion boards, some explore the educational value of new technologies such as pod casting. Fear of technology should not be a deterrent as there is ample support for those who need it. However, if you enjoy cutting edge technology, distance education might be right for you.

The University of London was the first university to offer distance learning degrees, establishing its External Programme in 1858. Another pioneering institution was the University of South Africa, which has been offering Correspondence Education courses since 1946. The largest distance education university in the United Kingdom is the Open University founded 1969.

In Germany the FernUniversitat in Hagen was founded 1974. There are now many institutions in the world offering "Open University" type distance learning courses, including the DaVinci College of Holistic Medicine that specializes in offering cutting-edge education in Holistic Medicine - this is a unique, paradigm shift away from the single-modality courses that are usually on offer by distance learning. These courses have also been accredited by the