The PBS Adult Learning Service's Going the Distance (GTD) degree program offers a virtual campus to your college. GTD responds to the growing number of adults who are eager to earn college degrees, but who require more flexibility than traditional on-campus courses allow.

The GTD Project offers you a wide array of information, references, and tools to develop, enhance, and promote your institution's distance degree program. Whether you're interested in establishing a distance degree program at your institution or are working to enhance the program you already offer, GTD provides you with the resources you need.

The Going the Distance Project

The PBS Going the Distance Project empowers colleges and universities to offer distance learning degree programs. It provides innovative, creative models to help you mold your distance learning courses and ad-hoc offerings into entire degree programs.

GTD enables your institution to create a degree program that effectively utilizes technology to deliver distance courses to your students. It accomplishes this by building upon established partnerships between colleges and public television stations with support from ALS and the Annenberg/CPB Project. Over 69 public television stations and 200 colleges and universities in 43 states currently participate in Going the Distance.

The first step for many institutions is to offer a full two-year (associate of arts) degree at a distance. For many, the next objective is to offer a bachelor's degree at a distance. The project's overall objective is to ensure that by December 2000, the virtual campus, enabling adult learners to earn a degree in less time and entirely at a distance, will be available from every state.

The effectiveness of Going the Distance is due in large part to public television's long standing role in higher education and its reach into ninety-seven percent of American homes, a percentage that far surpasses cable. Public television is also unparalleled in its commitment to education-stations nationwide make telecourses possible by broadcasting the course programs in their communities.

The Going the Distance Project acts as a catalyst for growth and change in the higher education community. It provides national leadership for the development of distance degree programs making it possible for adult learners with family and job responsibilities to pursue a college degree without having to come to campus.

For more about the Going the Distance Project, see PBS Adult Learning Service/Going the Distance .