What is Distance Learning?

Distance learning is a guided set of educational activities that provide high quality content linked to current research and/or other related, widely accepted academic work, along with access to the instructor or training provider.  It affords you the opportunity of taking courses at your pace - when you need them - and allows you to do so in the comfort and privacy of your home or office.  It becomes a real savings for you, both in time and money. 

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What separates our distance learning from previously used self-guided study (or home study) is the use of Internet technology that allows the participant immediate access to coursework as well as our instructional staff.  While our coursework is both self-guided and self-paced, students always have support through the use of emails and our FAQ page (go to FAQ page).  This difference allows the training activity to be more like an in-class training, without the added expense of travel, hotels, meals, and most importantly, time away from home or work.  

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Currently there are a variety of standards that others use to assign credits for distance or home study courses. Some groups offer more hours for less information than we believe to be appropriate. We turned to the U.S. Department of Education to examine standards for adult learners, as well as talked with NAADAC and other professional organizations. As a result, we have developed a standard of between 12 and 15 pages of written material for each credit hour offered. Our goal is to ensure that you receive the proper amount of quality information for the time you spend in distance education. Our courses will always be selected in order to ensure that the information offered will lend itself to this type of learning experience. As a result, you will not see experiential types of courses being offered in this type of format. 

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To obtain educational credits, a student must complete all readings assigned and successfully complete a posttest with a score of at least 80%.  In addition, a student must complete and return an evaluation of the course.  Students will also have the opportunity of posting questions for faculty or other student participants, and may also participate in monthly chat room events.  Active students will be notified of times and dates for such activities. 

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Our faculty have been and will be selected for their expertise in various content areas that are important to addiction professionals. Many courses are original works of the instructor. Other courses are adapted from federally produced works that are research based and widely accepted in the addictions field as being appropriate and proven. Be sure to check out the "faculty" page for more information on specific instructors, or simply click on an instructor's name to find out more. 

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All coursework is suitable for any health and human services professional seeking information or continuing education credits in the field of addictions. (e.g., Licensed/Certified Addiction Counselors, Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, Social Workers, Nurses, Physicians, Psychologists, etc.) 

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Courses being offered by the Distance Learning Center for Addiction Studies can typically be used for two types of educational needs: 

• Basic training courses ( for the student who is beginning their credentialing process), and 

• Continuing education courses ( for the already credentialed counseling professional). 

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Courses are available in three formats: 

• Internet format - PDF formatted materials that are posted on our website or can be downloaded to your computer system (at no additional charge), 

• USB Flash Drive format (available at an additional cost for materials/shipping/handling), or 

• Hard copy format (available at an additional cost for materials/shipping/handling). 

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Please note: fees for USB Flash Drive and Hard Copy formats of the educational materials include a materials and shipping fee above the basic cost of the training course.  There is no additional charge for Internet formatted materials.

Basic training courses will be offered in large blocks of hours, typically between 10 and 15 hours.  These courses are designed to help those individuals who are working toward obtaining a basic credential from their state or national body.   Many states now allow distance learning for basic training coursework - if you're not sure about your state, either visit our state listings by using this link - State and Other Body Approvals, or contact us at addictionstudies@dlc.email and we'll help you discover if this opportunity exists for you.  

Most continuing education courses will be 3 hour courses (3 clock hours of education - not credit hours) unless otherwise specified. States currently allow anywhere from zero to 100% of continuing education hours to be obtained in a distance format.  If you have any questions about your own state requirements, please be sure to contact the appropriate credentialing body in your state.  

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We continue to work with a variety of state and national groups to ensure that our coursework will be accepted as "approved" training hours.  We are approved by the following state and national bodies: 

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• The National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC); 

• The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC); 

• All major state licensure/certification boards.

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For your convenience, we've included a link below that will take you to a comprehensive listing of state requirements. It is ultimately your responsibility to insure that any credits being used for credentialing needs meet the local credentialing bodies' requirements. As we identify specific state requirements, we will post them on our website.