Membership
The membership of the Florida Distance Learning Consortium is comprised of Florida colleges and universities. Institution representatives are selected by their President and responsible for providing input on Consortium programs and initiatives, updating course listings in the Florida Higher Education Distance Learning Catalog, developing best practice and policy guidelines, and providing advice and leadership on a range of distance learning and educational technology issues. The representatives convene on a quarterly basis. To see a list of our member institutions and representatives, visit our member page!
About our catalog
The Florida Higher Education Distance Learning Catalog provides a listing of distance learning courses that are offered by Florida colleges and universities.
The catalog website currently lists over 20,000 courses annually and more than 450 online certificate through doctoral level degree programs available at our member institutions. The catalog can be searched using a range of criteria including academic term, offering institution, delivery method, course number and prefix or course description. For each listing, basic descriptive information including faculty teaching the course, campus attendance requirements (if applicable), tuition and fees and any specific requirements or prerequisites are provided.
A Brief History
The Florida Distance Learning Consortium was formally established, in statute, by the Florida Legislature in 2009 (s. 1004.091, F.S.). Prior to that time, the Consortium can trace its history through several antecedent organizations. The Florida Community College Distance Learning Consortium was established by the State Board of Community Colleges in 1996 and in 2003 completed a merger with the Florida Virtual Campus to provide coordination among Florida’s colleges and universities in the development, delivery, marketing, and acquisition of distance learning instruction and its infrastructure. The Consortium’s mission is to facilitate collaboration among public postsecondary educational institutions in their use of distance learning to increase student access to associate and baccalaureate courses and degree programs, to support institutions in their use of technology, and to help build partnerships among institutions, businesses, and communities. The Board of Governors and the State Board of Education provides joint oversight of the Consortium.
Currently distance learning instruction is almost 75% web-based!
What is distance learning?
Generally “distance learning” is participating in a class or program in which the instructor and student are separated by time, place or both with the majority of instruction taking place using some form of technology for delivery. In Florida, the Legislature has defined a distance learning course as a course in which at least 80 percent of the direct instruction of the course is delivered using some form of technology when the student and instructor are separated by time or space, or both.
Did you know that currently more than 28% of all Florida college enrollment is for Distance Learning courses? To see the latest data, read more!