Lectures can be televised, with a lecturer at one location being displayed on large screens at some remote lecture theater, or even in industrial concerns or homes. The EuroPACE enterprise of the late 1980s was supported by a number of commercial organizations. International authorities were filmed, in studios, lecturing on their subjects. These lectures were transmitted by satellite to the subscribers, who typically recorded the programs at their site and viewed the material at their leisure. Those studying the material could contact the lecturer over the following months, if they so chose. The enterprise was discontinued after a number of years, though there have been attempts to resurrect this. It seems to have failed because of the extreme remoteness of the student, with no real ability to ask questions or other devices to engage the student in the process of learning.

One can introduce some level of live and intermediate interaction by enabling questions after lectures, for example, by introducing an audio link from remote sites back to the lecturer, rather like a television phone-m program. Some universities that work between multiple sites, like De Montfort and London University in the UK, can even do two way video links, building on the video conferencing model. Some success is reported anecdotally, though many lecturers are reluctant to use the facilities, and need training in their use.

Contact between lecturers and students can shift from face to face encounters in tutorials, to email exchanges. Individuals in technical departments of universities, like computer science, have done this for some considerable time, but for non-technical departments using email has been `unnatural’ and not favored.

Email has also been used to collect formal assignments set for assessment purposes. The UK Ceilidh project attempted to formalize this, providing services for collecting student assignments, recording their submission, arranging for lecturer comment and marking, collecting and recording these marks, and then returning the material to the student -all done electronically. A similar system is being piloted in the Open University, based around several commercial products, with the additional concern of authenticating the submissions to avoid possible fraud – always a concern in mass education.

Students need access to reading material to supplement the knowledge given to them in lectures. In some disciplines the consideration of alternative points of view manifest in different works may be an essential part of the study. Students have either bought or borrowed books, and libraries have been an integral part of any campus. With the rising price of books, and the need for a library to hold set texts in multiple copies, they have turned to digital libraries – see, for example, the special issue of the Communications of the ACM on this. Some universities are already using digital libraries.

Out of this use of telecommunications to augment traditional campus university education comes one style of distance education, where lectures delivered centrally are viewed remotely through television. Students can ask questions remotely using telephones. Students can interact with their lecturers and tutors using email, even submitting assignments in this way. They can access libraries electronically.

But is this really the way to do it? Is it the right way for developing countries?

The key thing that distinguishes online learning from conventional education is the situation that the learner, the student, finds himself or herself in. The student will be learning in isolation, without access to libraries, or local experts, or other students, to help with learning problems. To understand the full potential of networks in distance education, it is firstly important to understand online learning without networks. There are a great many institutions round the world that offer open and distance learning courses – the ICDL database of the Commonwealth of Learning lists 836 of these from around the world. All of these have much in common, and to illustrate what they offer, we will next look at our own institution, the Open University in the United Kingdom.

The key thing that distinguishes developing countries from developed countries is the level of infrastructure available, and the funds available to invest in capital intensive approaches to education.

I found a program from a small accredited college in Indiana that had a self-study curriculum that used proctored exams that worked perfectly for me and I began taking classes.

That was cutting edge back then but now there are so many more options available, particularly online, for what used to be called distance learning that it can be very confusing in finding a good online school.

Stay Away From Diploma Mills

There are many shady operations that will sell you a fake degree from a bogus college that isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. Stay away from these as they will only end up causing you problems if you try and use one to get a job. You will eventually be found out and terminated for lying about your credentials and could easily ruin your career.

In fact, there have been several high profile people in business and government recently that have been exposed for using fake degrees and as a result lost their jobs and all credibility.

Avoid Life Experience Based Degrees

Some phony colleges will grant you a degree based on your life experiences. Sometimes you need to write up a few small reports to show that you have the knowledge but really I think this is so you think you are doing some work towards earning the fake degree.

These degrees are also pretty much worthless and any colleges that promote this type of higher education should be avoided.

Be aware though that there are legitimate institutions that will grant some credit for life experiences provided that you can detail (and I mean detail) your knowledge of a subject sufficiently enough to convince a professor that you should be granted the credit.

I got credit for a few classes this way but there were some where I failed to show enough knowledge in the subject to get credit so I had to take the classes.

Usually there is a limit to how much credit you can get this way because the bottom line is you need to take real courses with real homework and projects and tests in order to get a valid college degree you can be proud of.

Accreditation Is Key

The most important thing to consider when you are evaluating an online college program is whether or not it is accredited by a legitimate accrediting board. There are many online programs that say they are accredited by XYZ, etc. but many times these are not state recognized and have no validity in the real world.

You want to look for a program that is accredited by the same boards that accredit real brick and mortar colleges and universities so you can be sure you are getting a legitimate education.

Since many mainstream colleges are starting to have online programs you can be assured that taking classes from one of them will be OK but for others do your due diligence before signing up.

Remember, there are no shortcuts to getting a quality education that not only benefits you but your employer so remember the old adage that if it’s too good to be true…

What it Involves

Distance learning civil engineering involves taking either a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) or a Master of Science (M.S.), in Civil Engineering through the online or distance mode. M.S. in specializations like Structural Engineering, Construction Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Transportation Engineering, and Hydraulic Engineering, are also available through distance learning civil engineering.

Though 2-year Associate Degrees are also available, it is only as a bridge to a B.S. Degree, since a Bachelor’s is the minimum entry-level requirement for the industry. However, an Associate Degree in Civil Engineering Technology is acceptable for the career of Civil Engineering Technician.

In the USA, Professional Engineer (PE) license from State Licensing Boards is needed by Civil Engineers if they want to play a role in infrastructure work affecting the public, and the training for the two PE exams, ‘Fundamentals of Engineering’ and ‘Principles and Practice’, are also available through distance learning civil engineering.

Compared with the B.S. degree, there is both more demand as well as options for the M.S. Degree through distance learning civil engineering. The main reason for this is the industry’s increasing demand for specialized civil engineers like Structural or Environmental Engineers. It is also driven by a recent recommendation of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to the US State Licensing Boards that the minimum educational qualification for Professional Engineer (PE) license be upgraded from the current Bachelor’s to a Masters level.

Why Civil Engineering?

Unlike many engineering branches, the demand for Civil Engineering has a direct relation with population growth. In fact, this is why Civil Engineering continues to be the largest engineering branch in terms of employment, compared with equally conventional branches like Mechanical Engineering or modern branches like Computer Science, which is mainly due to this direct relation with population growth. More people mean more apartments, and more people also eventually lead to a larger employee pool – thereby increasing both residential and commercial construction.

The demand for Civil Engineering also has a direct correlation with economic growth. This is because, periods of economic slowdown will leave no funds for infrastructure development, while periods of economic growth will provide surplus funds that will be gobbled up in no time by the pending infrastructure needs. In the coming years and decades, economic slowdowns will be better predicted, if not avoided, thanks to the better interventional strategies by institutions like the Federal Reserve. This will leave funds ever available for infrastructure development, and will generate steady demand for Civil Engineers in the coming years.

Most Civil Engineering projects like roads, bridges, tunnels, dams, railway lines, airports, seaports, water supplies, sewage systems, buildings, etc. are also heavy on maintenance and repair, and such regular work contributes to the great demand for Civil Engineers. The need for high-speed, highly-safe mass transportation systems like underground or undersea railways is another major driver for the advancement of Civil Engineering.

Civil Engineering of today is also a professionally satisfying career, with good salaries and technologically updated work. Though average salaries of Civil Engineers are not very high, many of them draw as much as US $95,000 and none of them draw below US $43,500. They also get to work in high-tech areas like earthquake-resistant designs, and make heavy use of tools like Computer Aided Design / Engineering (CAD/CAE).

Why Distance Learning Civil Engineering?

Almost all online or distance courses in any branch of engineering would require work in the industry to meet coursework requirements, as coursework in on-campus labs is not possible. Civil Engineering has the greatest advantage on this front as civil work is abundant everywhere, and this is the main reason why so many Universities and Colleges offer distance learning civil engineering.

It is the best option for technicians, surveyors, and other junior technical staff working in the industry, who want to upgrade themselves to the status of an engineer. Indeed, the majority of those going for a B.S. degree through distance learning civil engineering, are already working in the industry. Practicing Civil Engineers already having a Bachelor’s Degree, also find this the best option, as there is professional pressure on them to specialize further in the field, without upsetting their regular work.

When a Civil Engineer grows from an employee to a Consultant, the Professional Engineer (PE) license will become increasingly important. It is widely expected that soon an M.S. in Civil Engineering would become the minimum educational qualification needed for this, and distance learning civil engineering is the best option for this.

What to Expect From Distance Learning Civil Engineering, in the Future?

As of today, the number of M.S. Degrees in General Civil Engineering is much more than M.S. in the Civil Engineering specializations like Structural, Construction, Environmental, Geotechnical, Transportation, or Hydraulic. However, this scenario will rapidly change, reflecting the increased demand for specialized Civil Engineers. The result will be that Distance Learning Civil Engineering will be offered by more institutions, and that it will be offered with more majors and specializations.