Auburn University is committed to serving your life long educational needs. The educational opportunities you will find on this site meet the same exacting standards as do our campus offerings. Courses are carefully designed by our Auburn faculty with the aid of distance education professionals who assist in the development of instructional materials, academic resources, technical support systems, telecommunications, and student services.

The following information describes some of the benefits you can take advantage of as an Auburn distance education student.

Access: The greatest benefit of Auburn's distance education programs is access. Perhaps you are in an area without a college campus nearby. Perhaps the campus you have access to does not offer the program you desire. Distance education overcomes barriers to achieving your educational and career goals.

Convenience and Flexibility: Through distance education you have access to your studies essentially free from many of the barriers of time and location, allowing you to access instruction at anytime from anywhere. Adult learners especially find participating in Auburn's distance education programs an excellent way of continuing education without moving away from family and work responsibilities. No more giving up a career; no more driving hours each week to the nearest campus. All you need is contemporary communications equipment and the motivation to succeed in your courses.

Interaction: The Internet and other devices provide an opportunity for a high level of meaningful interaction between you and your instructor and between you and your fellow students. Each individual can contribute to course discussion and comment on the thoughts of others, creating a free flow of dialogue that becomes a valuable element of your learning. Since you can think about a topic or fellow student's comment before responding, the quality of the discussion is often better than if it occurred spontaneously within the time frame of a regular class. These quality, extended discussions build part of your course's knowledge bank.

Individualized Instruction: Working independently, you can focus on specific topics of personal interest as you complete your assignments. Additionally, course materials are presented in a variety of forms accommodating your own unique learning style. And you can progress at your own pace.

Vast Resources Readily Available: Technology makes access to a world of valuable resources extremely easy and relatively inexpensive. Internet links can take you to other websites, databases, listservs, libraries, museums, agencies, associations, special archives and much more. Course materials include resources with a variety of perspectives in any number of media types–photos, audio, video, text–thus enhancing the quality and the interest factor of your course.