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It is difficult these days to find arguments against distance learning since the internet has grown to become so much a part of the world's daily life. Today blogs deliver more news than newspapers, and most colleges and university's offer at least some courses online, if not entire degree programs.
The problems created by diploma mills which offered fake degrees in the early days of the internet has been significantly lessened since the major accreditation organizations (like the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities) are now commonly including online degree programs. And a distance education even has its own nationally recognized accrediting agency, the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council, which specifically and exclusively legitimizes online programs. So now it is easy to separate the real degrees from the scams.
Still, some professions are hold outs. Notably, the American Bar Association still refuses to recognize schools which award degrees based on substantial online course delivery. This is ironic, thought, since so much law education is research based and ideally suited for the online environment.
And of course, people who have never learned good study habits and lack the ability to work independently are not good candidates for online learning. E-learners need self discipline to keep themselves on track with the class syllabus and to stay on top of homework deadlines and due dates for papers.
Although it seems on the surface that distance learning is ideal for people with young children who want to start or finish a degree, some parents actually find the home environment too distracting for concentrated study. Between the relentless demands of young toddlers, and the distractions of a spouse who may want to converse or spend time together, some parents actually find it easier to attend classes away from home in order to find peace in a classroom and space to concentrate in the school library.
Also, there are some person to person networking opportunities that can develop into invaluable professional contacts which may not be possible during an online class. While it is true that social networking is now a common online activity, some people just feel more comfortable (and are more successful at making connections) in offline environments.
For example, who would you rather recruit as your next sales person (or who would you prefer that your boss hires)? Someone you have seen every week for several months, with whom you’ve spent spent several hours discussing golf and personal belief systems over double mocha lattes, or a fellow classmate you've known for the same amount of time, but only through emails and chat rooms? If you’re like most people, you will choose the person you have met in the real world over the person you know from the virtual world.
But when it comes to distance education, in the end, as long as the degree program that you're paying for is accredited to your satisfaction and delivers the content you need, the choice of online or in-person delivery for your education is a matter of personal preference.
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