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Why Choose Distance Education?
Students enroll in distance education programs for many reasons:
- logistical: they cannot attend a campus away from their
home;
- familial: they have child-care or elder-care obligations;
- professional: they cannot get away from their current
job in order to enhance their future possibilities;
- geographic: the program may be offered at a location that
is not feasible to attend for economic, cultural, or political
reasons.
Skills Needed to
Succeed
Experience shows that those most likely to succeed in a distance
education program are students who like to work independently
and who have some degree of privacy. With today's heavy reliance
on computers and the Internet, certain technical skills also
are required. More than a few students do not complete their
distance education programs or transfer to more traditional
campus-based degree programs, because they do not have the
necessary skills and a suitable working environment. Potential
distance learners should do an honest and thoughtful assessment
of themselves in relation to the requirements for the program.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Am I self-motivated and an independent learner?
- Am I someone who can work consistently, or do I tend to
put everything off until the last minute?
- Does my schedule truly permit me to devote the necessary
hours to study?
- Do I have a place at home or at work that I can claim
as my own for extended periods of study and communication
with the program? Will family members or others around me
respect my need to spend time on my own?
- Do I have the technical skills needed to participate fully
in the program that interests me? If the program is conducted
by computer, do I have the necessary computer skills to
complete the program successfully, or do I need to learn
how to use e-mail and the Internet first?
- Do I have someone to assist me if I experience technical
problems? (Any distance education program accredited in
the United States should be able to help you through its
"help desk," which you can access through e-mail,
but it is also useful to know someone close to home whom
you can call on for assistance.)
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