The Distance Learner: a blog about earning a degree through distance education
Matthew has launched The Distance Learner, a new blog about earning an accredited college degree through distance education. It’s written for homeschool parents and students who are thinking about life after high school and wondering whether a traditional campus is the only way to get there.
Why distance education?
Matthew was homeschooled from kindergarten through twelfth grade. After a year at a local community college, he finished his computer science degree through Thomas Edison State College’s distance education program while apprenticing at RoleModel Software and then working at SAS Institute. He graduated in 2005 with real-world experience, a full-time job, and no college debt.
That experience is what The Distance Learner is about. Studying at a distance lets students:
- Keep their schedules flexible, so they can work or apprentice while they study
- Avoid the biggest costs of college, like room and board, and graduate with little or no debt
- Stay connected to their families, churches, and communities instead of moving away
The blog covers how to find an accredited program, how exams and proctoring work, dual enrollment for high schoolers, and how a degree earned at a distance fits into a career. Matthew’s brother David, who is earning his own degree through distance education, will be contributing posts as well.
See us at the NCHE convention
The blog launches alongside Matthew’s workshop at this year’s North Carolinians for Home Education (NCHE) convention in Winston-Salem. The workshop, Distance Education: An Alternative to Traditional College, shares Matthew’s own story, the benefits distance education offers over a traditional campus, and practical steps parents and high schoolers can take to choose a good program and succeed in it.
If you’re attending, we’d love to see you there. Either way, visit The Distance Learner to read along and ask questions.
Update: Matthew gave the same workshop at the 2007 NCHE convention and in 2008 at a conference held by GIFTS, a North Carolina support group for families homeschooling children with special needs. The Distance Learner went on to publish nearly 60 articles on accreditation, dual enrollment, exams, careers, and online learning, written by Matthew and David over the years with help from a guest writer in 2021. It’s still online at thedistancelearner.com.