Have you been looking into improving your education but can’t quite decide whether a distance learning home study course or evening classes at a nearby college would be best for you. You will get a whole raft of both positive and negative opinions from whomever you ask.

Rumours are rife that so called distance learning schools are nothing more than well organised scams designed to separate gullible people from their cash. You will often hear that employers do not consider the diplomas that they offer, to be a genuine qualification While there is some truth in statements like these, you will be surprised at just how often these ideas turn out to be nothing more than urban legends.

So, let us separate the wood from the trees so to speak.


No doubt, you have read stories about politicians or prominent business people who have paid good money for their higher education degrees from a diploma mill. The story becomes the main topic of conversation on the TV and in the newspapers for a few days and then it is back to business as usual. Although this does happen from time to time, more often than not, this is not the case.

Finding out if the distance learning institution has accreditation is the most important thing to establish early on. Degrees and diplomas from accredited institutions are readily accepted by employers as legitimate. Ultimately, unless you tell them otherwise, the employer will not know that you obtained your diploma via an online training course. All he knows is that you successfully completed all the required requirements for your degree. There is nothing printed on the diploma and more often than not the employer will not ask to see it anyway.

Something else that you may think or have been told about distance learning is that it is easier than sitting in a classroom. This is simply not true. If you don’t have the required self-discipline needed for distance learning, you may in fact find home study more difficult. At the end of the day, the course is going to cover the same material whether you study at home or in a classroom. That is what academic accreditation is there for.

In any case, your assigned instructor plays a crucial role in how well you do as well as how much and how fast you learn. With that in mind, you should make a point of finding out all you can about the tutors involved with the distance-learning program. Their history and reputation should give you a good idea how well you might do.

Can credits be transferred from one school to another?


If you have started a distance learning program and want to move to a new school, you should be able to take earned credits with you. Once again, accreditation is the key. On the assumption that both your distance learning institution and your new school are both accredited, your official transcript will go through the same review process. Although some credits may not transfer, most will. As already pointed out, it is very much in your own interests to do as much research as possible before embarking on a distance learning course.

How much quicker will I complete my degree course with distance learning?

It all depends on the type of person you are and your own personal learning pace. Home study allows you the advantage of learning at your own speed rather than the set pace of classroom tuition. If something is easy for you then go ahead and breeze through it. Ultimately, you are the one that is in control.

By: Alan Kenyon