Distance Learning  programs offer millions of people the opportunity to advance their education from the comfort of home. There are hundreds of colleges and universities that offer online training and accredited degrees with affordable tuition rates and great teachers.

We have gathered together information about the best distance learning programs to help you decide how to improve your life with an accredited degree. You can request more detailed information about each program for free! We'll be happy to help you find the school that's right for you. Check out our resources for the best distance learning colleges today.

We have connections to schools that offer distance learning undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees, doctorate degrees, and the ever popular distance learning MBA degree.

If you want to learn more about distance learning, check out our articles on financial aid for distance learners, distance learning history, and accreditation for distance learning schools.

Distance learning is very popular and growing even more common each year. A U.S. Department of Education study for 2006-2007 revealed some interesting distance learning statistics. Nearly 97 percent of public 2-year institutions offered distance education courses. Eighty-nine percent of public 4-year schools offered distance learning courses, while 70 percent of the private institutions did. Overall, there were nearly 11,200 college-level programs in the U.S. that could be totally completed by distance education. About 2/3 of these were accredited degree programs, while 1/3 were programs offering certificates.

Although we typically think of distance learning as online classes, distance learning has actually been around for nearly 300 years in other forms. The history of distance learning degrees is quite interesting. Some of the first distance education programs were published in newspapers, while others involved correspondence by mail.

As technology changes, so have the distance learning methods. Classes have been taught over the radio, on television, on VHS tapes, by CDs, and now even with DVDs and by videoconferencing. Who knows what will be the future of distance learning? Some people think that developing holographic technologies will lead to 3-dimensional projections of teachers which could make distance learning even more common.

Distance learning is often misunderstood by the general public as myths spread. Genuine distance learning programs provide a wonderful education that can favorably compare with the best of on-campus institutions. There are "diploma mills" out there that will offer distance learning undergraduate degrees for cash, and this sometimes gives distance learning in general an undeserved black eye. If a website promises a degree with little or no work, it obviously is not providing a good education and will not be widely accepting in the workforce. These "diploma mills" sometimes even make up their own accrediting agencies to say that the diplomas are accredited, and technically they are, but accreditation by Joe Shmoe's Online Accrediting Agency is meaningless. Look for colleges that offer national or regional accreditation, or talk to an expert in distance learning.

The vast majority of on-campus colleges have implemented distance learning programs because they have seen the benefits for the students and educators. Educators can often teach more people at one time without the constrains of a physical classroom, and students can get personal support with the numerous teaching assistants offered for each class and through the many ways to contact teachers.