What Are Correspondence Courses?

Often, students may need a particular course for their education but don't live where it's offered. However, thanks to correspondence courses they're able to take courses by mail. Besides traditional college students, correspondence courses focus on full-time employees, military personnel, and other nontraditional students unable to attend in-person classroom lectures.

Identification

Also known as home studies, correspondence courses are studies of usually academic materials that are done with printed materials through the mail. Study materials include all textbooks, as well as study guides and assignments, with tests that are sent to a student's mailing address from course teachers.

Benefits

Correspondence courses have several benefits over traditional courses. For example, they don't require traveling time to class and the expense of paying for gas or buying new clothes to wear to a traditional classroom. They also offer a great deal of flexibility for one's schedule. You're able to study at your own pace, going as slow or fast as you're able. If you have either a full- or part-time job, you can take a correspondence course with less interference from work hours. This affords more time spent with family, on hobbies, and on other priorities.

Types

Correspondence courses cover many subjects, including trade school careers. Examples of different types of correspondence courses are high school courses, college-accredited courses, self-improvement, technical, professional, and scientific courses.

Considerations

Although correspondence courses can offer advantages, they're not for everyone. For example, if you're a visual learning and learn best through seeing or an auditory learner who learns mostly by hearing, correspondence courses may not be the solution for you. On the other hand, you may be a kinesthetic learner who learns best through doing and touching. Then a correspondence course would be a good fit.

Misconceptions

A common misconception is that correspondence learning always saves money. However, it's often more expensive to set up distance education, making the student to teacher ratio smaller. Therefore, sometimes more money is charged to take a correspondence course than a traditional course.

Warning

When signing up for a correspondence course, be cautious of claims that may not be legitimate. For example, some correspondence schools make guarantees that aren't realistic, such as guaranteeing employment upon completion of their courses.

History

American correspondence education started in 1874 when western New York state's Chautauqua Lake Sunday School Assembly launched a program training church workers and Sunday school teachers. The concept of long-distance courses spread to nondenominational courses, leading to schools being founded. Mail-order courses were also set up in Europe, offering courses in German, French, and English. Education in studies including grammar, spelling, bookkeeping, and business letters were offered by nonreligious courses, although others taught subjects ranging from developing mental capacities to running a beauty shop. William Rainey Harper of the University of Chicago was a well-known leader in long-distance education by the close of the 19th century.

Resources

• Correspondence Schools