Distance education: technology at its best.
Over the years, in this country and others, more and more people want to pursue a higher education. But many do not live in an area with a college or university, or cannot relocate for one reason or another.
That fact, coupled with the explosion of Internet technology, has led to an innovative solution that is continuing to gain international acceptance: distance education.
A simple definition.
In the most basic terms, distance education is simply someone taking a class without being at the same physical location as the person teaching it. Delivered primarily over the Internet (but also via DVD, CD-ROM, video or various combinations of these), distance education is already meeting the needs of 16 percent of all U.S. students enrolled in college courses – many of whom are busy, working adults with families and other obligations.
The benefits are probably already apparent:
- You can earn a degree without relocating or having to drive to another city.
- You can gain an education without compromising your current work or family obligations.
- You can advance your current career for better pay and a brighter future without having to take time off from work.
- You can complete course work when it's most convenient for you.
- You can work at your own
pace,
on your own schedule.
Or, put another way, distance education provides anyone and everyone with a gateway to college and beyond.
Taking it a step further with a physical facility.
In the case of the Gateway Technology Center, distance education is provided through courses and programs provided by NC State University and East Carolina University. The building itself gives students ready access to facilities to enhance their learning, such as latest generation computers with high-speed Internet connections.
