Credit by learing contract is a common method used in many distance degree programs.  It is often referred to as the degree or study plan. It is the official agreement between the school and the student establishing the goals, methods of reaching those goals, the time frame required and the resulting award the school will bestow once these goals are realized.

The plan must be specific and in writing.  It must outline assignmetns, tasks, prodedures, learning objective and estimates for completion.   The written contract will safeguard the student in the event the professor assigned retires, moves, etc.  Without the contract, the student has nothing to show for all of the work completed.  

The learning contract is a binding legal document that has obligations to be fulfilled by both parties. The student has to fulfill the requirements in order to receive what the school legally has to present-usually a specified number of credits or a degree. Where there is a dispute about how the contract is to be interpreted, or whether one party or another has breached the contract, an impartial third party is normally brought in to arbitrate the matter. Binding arbitration should always be included as a clause within the written agreement.

The contract itself can be proposed by either student or faculty.

Currently there are over 100 regionally accredited institutions that offer over 12,000 courses by correspondence. There are twenty-three colleges accredited by the DETC which do offer complete degree programs by correspondence

CONVENIENCE

By definition, a correspondence class is a school coming to your house on your time schedule, at your convenience.  You decide when, where and how much of the coursework you will do.  It is designed to be done at your own pace. 

The beauty of this is in the simplicity.  The coursework is sent to your home.  YOu complete the work, then mail it back to the teacher for review and grading.  You never spend time in a classroom or set foot on a campus.  You never even see your professor.    The price is less than a traditional classroom course. 

At the end of your course, generally the student will take an exam under to direction of a proctor.  This can usually be arranged with any local school.

The list of DETC schools and the degrees they offer, the over 100 colleges and universities accredited regionally, and the specialized schools offering correspondence courses or degrees are already delineated in chapters 5 and 15.

ACCEPTANCE

Students must check that correspondence will be transferable. Even regionally accredited schools do not always accept this type of credit from other regionally schools. 

VALUABLE  RESOURCE

The  best resource guide on all of the courses available at each of the NUCEA schools (also accredited regionally) is The Independent Study Catalog - A Guide To Over 10,000 Correspondence Courses (1998 edition), published by Peterson’s for the NUCEA. All the schools included are regionally accredited. While this book does not offer guidance on actual degree information, it is an excellent resource listing ALL OF THE ACCREDITED COURSES that are available from the regionally accredited schools above. To order call (800) 225-0261.
http://www.nucea.edu/

INTERNET RESOURCE:

Visitt www.caso.com for a  list of over 2,700 courses available by distance. These are not full DEGREE programs, but individual courses. Check carefully as some of these are from unaccredited schools and some are continuing ed. courses only, which usually will not be granted credit towards a degree program.