What are these Distance Education University Programs that I See Advertised Online? Traditionally, many people think of a University as a large, sprawling collection of buildings that have different spaces dedicated to many different areas of study. They might have several different colleges that offer varying levels of education and have common areas for students to share, such as lounges and a quad. A Distance Education University may lack many of these traits, but it shares the most important one, which is the ability to allow students to pick their field of study and obtain a degree in any discipline.
The differences are that a distance education university doesn’t have a building that you go and attend classes in and it doesn’t have a giant sprawling campus (although some are extensions of physical universities). Instead, they exist in what most of us consider the “virtual” world. Real professors interact with real students through a variety of distance communication methods, mostly through the internet and email, but also through phone calls and even regular mail. These methods allow students to get a world class education without ever having to set foot in a real classroom.
Are the Degrees Offered by a Distance Education University for Real?
Yes, they are. The measure of how legitimate a university is typically lies in something called accreditation. There are several third party organizations that “accredit” schools, which is to say that they conduct an independent analysis to see if the school meets their predetermined requirements for offering valid degrees.
In recent years, the accreditation bodies have expanded their search to online schools that are specializing in distance education. What has resulted is a much more competitive atmosphere among online schools; ensuring that most of them are becoming fully accredited in their attempts to provide the highest level of education to their students. You can get a distance degree certified by the same body as the colleges in your home town, meaning that these degrees are definitely for real.
What Can I Study at a Distance Education University?
The best thing about opting to attend a distance education university over a regular school is that you can obtain almost any degree in any specialty if you find the right school. Whether it’s a bachelors, masters, or even a doctorate degree that will bring you to the next level in your education, you can search the internet and find a high quality school that can offer it to you.








