Twenty years ago the world of computers and the internet was largely unknown. Yes there were the creators and designers of software and hardware that were slaving away and creating a basis for what we take for granted today. The majority of the population however, was computer illiterate. Less than 10 years later, desktop computers were a must have for the home and office. This sharp increase of development in such a short period of time has not happened before in human history. But if you have internet access, you probably already knew that.
The Information Age has brought with it a not seen before benefit in the realm of personal development (in a broad sense of the phrase). Whether you want to learn about history, the arts, politics, dieting or how to train your dog, the internet has it. So with all this free information why is it that people mostly shy away from online or correspondence learning? Perhaps it is that we learnt from a classroom platform at school and it is ingrained in us that the best way to learn is directly from teacher to pupil. Or perhaps we find it difficult to motivate ourselves to study from home. Whatever the reason, the concept of distance learning is, for most people, a foreign one.
I will delve into one region of studies for a moment. Metaphysics. Or, if you prefer, esoteric studies. Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that unravels the seen and unseen forces that govern our lives. It holds very similar values to that of life coaching or life training in that it teaches us self development above all else. This is by far one of the tougher regions of study as the subject is you. As I’m sure you are aware, sometimes you don’t want to know what causes your anger or frustration. You just get on with it.
It becomes even more difficult when you study self development via distance learning. It means that every time you get stuck, you don’t have a teacher or lecturer to answer your question. You are given a certain time period to finish your course but are seldom given a guideline as to the pace you should be working. Most frustrating is that once you have bought or signed up for your course, there is very little or no contact from the institution. There is little wonder then that the growth of distance learning is so slow. A study published in 2011 by the U.S. Department of Education found that “From 2000 to 2008, the percentage of undergraduates enrolled in at least one distance learning class expanded from 8 percent to 20 percent, and the percentage enrolled in a distance learning degree program increased from 2 percent to 4 percent.”
With metaphysics, there are a few institutions who are coming up to speed with the times. One such place is MetaVarsity. They offer all their courses predominantly via distance learning and have taken initiative in restructuring their distance learning program. They provide one on one facilitators through whom questions can be answered. This facilitator is assigned to the learner personally and is with the learner throughout the course. They also provide a study plan that gives a definite guideline as to how much time should be spent on different chapters. Most notably they provide online tutorials which is an online class based environment. With this in mind, MetaVarsity has a distance learning completion rate of 55% for the self development courses. This may not seem like a high number, but when compared to a study by the U.S. Department of Education from 2007/2008 it was found that less than 20% of students who studied distance learning completed their entire course.
Beyond the steady uphill battle of distance learning that institutes face, as a safe and secure option of study, there are the traditionalists who would say, “There is no school like the old school.” And they may be right. Distance learning is different. But its not anything to be afraid of. If you have the will to study, then you will study. It is that simple. No matter if you choose distance learning or campus based, you will study and find your own path of personal development.
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