Distance Education

 

Course Delivery Methods

Distance education at Mason is a formal educational process in which the majority of the instruction in a course occurs when students and instructors are not in the same place.  Instruction may be synchronous (all students in class at the same time) or asynchronous (students can access the class at anytime).   

A distance education course may employ correspondence study (i.e. CD’s), audio, video, or computer technologies.  In order for a course to be classified as a distance education course at Mason, more than one-half (50%) of the course content is delivered to students via the web, teleconferencing, or through methods other than face-to-face. 

Distance education courses may have on-campus requirements.  Students will want to check before registering to make sure that they understand, and agree to participate in all requirements.  Mason has ground-based classrooms in Fairfax (FX), Arlington (AR), Prince William County (PW), and, Loudon County (LC).

When searching for courses that are offered via distance education, you will see that the location code is listed as "NET".  Some examples include: 

Face to Face
Meets face-to-face more than or equal to 50% of the meeting time

Traditional courses where all students meet in the same place at the same time.  Instruction is delivered face-to-face.

Distance – Hybrid
Meets face-to-face less than 50% of the meeting time

Instruction is delivered face-to-face in the same place at the same time less than 50% of the time.  The majority of the course is offered through web-based instruction, video conferencing, teleconferencing, NEW software, Blackboard, and/or Elluminate® live sessions.   

Discussion boards, podcasting, chat rooms, e-mail, learning communities, and other methods are used by faculty and students to achieve the learning outcomes. 

Distance
100% course content delivered electronically
(exceptions may include orientation, first class, and/or testing)

The course is offered through web-based instruction, video conferencing, teleconferencing, NEW software, Blackboard, and/or Elluminate® live sessions.   Specific course requirements may include face-to-face orientation and/or testing.    

Discussion boards, podcasting, chat rooms, e-mail, learning communities, and other methods are used by faculty and students to achieve the learning outcomes.