About Distance Education

The following information gives you an overview of studying by distance education.

Program materials

When studying by distance education you may receive:

• program materials divided into topics, organised into week-long schedules and prepared by acknowledged experts in distance learning
• study modules containing activities designed to encourage participants to apply ideas to their own jobs
• assignments designed to test the mastery and application of program materials, that are carefully assessed before feedback is provided
• resource materials containing interesting, practical or contentious views
• computer-based education packages to support some topics.

Distance education students usually study two 8-point courses per semester. More or fewer courses may be studied in consultation with the Course Coordinator.

Sessions of study

In the southern hemisphere, the standard academic year runs from late February to late November. At CSU, this is divided into two semesters which we refer to as:

• Session One runs from late February to mid June, and
• Session Two runs from late July to late November.

The exact dates vary according to an academic calendar which is published more than 12 months in advance.
The currently published dates may be found here.

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Assessment

All courses have continuous assessment (assignments) and most also have an examination. Distance education students have the option of submitting assignments electronically through specially developed online technology, called EASTS. Assignments can be submitted earlier than their due date.

You can study via distance education from anywhere in the world. Students may attend examinations at locations in most metropolitan and regional centres throughout Australia or in one of our examination centres in most major cities around the world. Examination centres are arranged so that, under most circumstances, a student is not required to travel more than 120km to attend an examination.

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Staff and student contact

Students are encouraged to maintain direct contact with staff by telephone or e-mail. Office telephone numbers and e-mail addresses will be supplied and telephone answering services are available in the offices of Course Coordinators. Students will also be advised of numbers for the School's central telephone answering and facsimile machines.

While telephone may be convenient for Australian-based students, a variety of online tools such as e-mail, forums, and chat sessions are typically available for international as well as Australian students.

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Find out more about Distance Education at Charles Sturt University
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