There are many accredited elearning or distance learning programs available today from reputable colleges. E-learning is a way to obtain the education you need at your own learning speed by attending college through online classes and the use of college level examinations.

Many formal college organizations have even opened a distance learning programs to take advantage of this rapidly growing market. You can obtain not only a 4 year degree but also advanced Masters and Doctorate degrees almost completely online. There's even specialty certification type programs available from many colleges as well. The benefit to the college is they can support many more students without a large increase in cost for additional staff or physical space.

E-learning is not a shortcut in the quality of your education however. Rather, it's an educational material delivery method that allows your to work at your own pace. Distance learning uses a variety of strategies to help you learn. Textbooks are used of course as are videos or audio of lectures, along with discussion forums, email and direct support when needed. The big benefit here is that you can go as fast or as slowly as necessary to complete the coursework. This means that it's possible to complete semester classes in much less time.

E-learning also supports work experience. Many of the distance learning colleges are now accepting word experience portfolios and granting college level credit based on that knowledge.

In addition, if you're a self learner, you may also want to consider CLEP [college level examination program] exams to collect college credit for basic courses even more quickly. A CLEP exam is a subject matter test given by a nearby educational institution. These are usually undergraduate classes in basic subjects like English, Art, Math and others. The benefit here is that you can study for the exam on your own then simply schedule and take it. If you fail the test or don't get a high enough grade for your satisfaction, simply retake the exam.

There is no penalty so you can retake the exam as many times as you need to successfully pass the test. Pass the test in English with the minimum score, notify your selected distance learning college, and they award you x number of credits in that subject. I've known people who completed almost all their pre-requisite and under graduate courses using only CLEP and DANTES testing.

As distance learning becomes more popular, the number of colleges offering this type of educational environment continues to increase. Some however aren't as quick to embrace all the levels of distance learning available. For example some colleges won't give full credit for CLEP examinations though most do. Others require you to attend at least 1 class physically at their campus to be eligible for distance learning opportunities.

The best way to decide if distance learning is for you is to sign up at a local community college for a distance learning or computer based learning class. If you find that this type of educational learning environment is for you, the next step would be to find a college you are interested in attending. New York and New Jersey have several well recognized and accredited colleges that are fully supportive elearning and distance learning.