Distance learning courses in uk (britain / england)

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Find a distance learning course in the UK


Sections:	Introduction
	Finding a course
	Student guide to distance learning
	Links

Related pages:	Guide (information for all types of student)
	Short courses (summer school classes)

INTRODUCTION

There may be many possible reasons why you may not be able to come to the UK to study, for example:
- You cannot afford the fees and living costs
- You have family commitments which prevent you from leaving your home area
- You have a medical problem or a disability of some kind which makes it difficult for you to travel
- You cannot obtain a visa allowing you to study in the UK

However you may still be able to study for British qualifications by taking a distance learning course.
Generally these work as follows:
- You find a distance learning provider which is offering a course which you want to take (see below)
- You pay a fee to cover the cost of registration, course materials and tuition
- You study at home by yourself, using the course materials (these may be provided as workbooks, CDs or online)
- You complete assignments, and send these to your tutor for assessment (through the post or by e-mail)
- Your tutor checks your work and provides comments to help you (by post, e-mail or by telephone)
- If you need to take an exam, this may be arranged in your country
- Your course materials and exam results are marked and checked by the
- If you have reached the required level, your qualification is sent to you.

Before paying for a distance learning course, make sure that it is a proper school and that its qualifications are accredited (you should check with the accrediting institution). There have been cases of fraudsters taking money from students by inventing impressive-sounding names of schools and offering "qualifications" which have no value.

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FINDING A COURSE

The International Centre for Distance Learning (ICDL) produces a directory of UK distance learning courses: http://www-icdl.open.ac.uk/courses.

Further sources of course information and useful links:
HotCourses website (see the "distance & online" section): http://www.hotcourses.com
Open and Distance Learning Quality Council: (accreditation organisation): http://www.odlqc.org.uk
Study2u website: http://www.study2u.com
i-UK ("open and distance learning" page): http://www.i-uk.com

One major provider of distance learning courses is the University of London. For information, see: http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk.

The Open University is the largest distance learning institution in the UK. See: http://www.open.ac.uk/new/distance-learning.shtml. Most courses are designed for people who are living in the UK, European Union or Switzerland.

Online English courses are becoming increasingly common.

The BBC produces a lot of educational programmes. For details of how to make use of these, see: http://www.bbclearning.com.

Note that in some countries there are British schools, colleges or universities which providing their courses locally.

Directory of UK Distance Learning Courses 2004
Author: Open University
Publisher: Trotman
Date: September 2003

STUDENT GUIDE TO DISTANCE LEARNING

	How to Manage Your Distance and Open Learning Course Author: Lucinda Becker Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Date: July 2004		Online College: What You Need to Know Before Beginning a Virtual Distance Learning Degree Program Author: Mark W. Timmis Publisher: Lightning Source UK Ltd Date: July 2004
	Studying at a Distance: A Guide for Students Author: Christine Talbot Publisher: Open University Press Date: July 2003

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