1999 Medicine Handbook - Distance education

Distance education

In addition to its range of on-campus courses Monash also conducts an extensive distance education program via the Monash Distance Education Centre which was designated in 1990 as one of eight national distance education centres in Australia. Monash's commitment to distance education means that students who cannot attend on-campus lecture programs because of work, family commitments or location can be offered the same opportunities as those studying on campus.
The aim of distance education is to provide students with the necessary resources to complete a major part of their course work off-campus. This involves the provision of (a) course material especially designed for independent study; (b) opportunities for effective lecturer-student and student-student interaction; (c) access to any necessary facilities, eg library, computer, audio-visual etc.
In 1999 the School of Nursing plans to offer the following courses by distance education:

Bachelor of Nursing (Post Registration)
The Honours Degree of Bachelor of Nursing
Graduate Certificate of Nursing (Psychiatric Nursing)
Graduate Diploma of Nursing (Community Health)
Graduate Diploma of Nursing (Gerontics)
Graduate Diploma of Nursing (Psychiatric Nursing)
Master of Nursing.

In undertaking distance education study for the first time it is important not to be too ambitious in setting an initial study load as it takes some experience to be really effective in the use of time and study methods.
The success of past students demonstrates that a person in full-time employment can achieve high standards and satisfy the demanding requirements of many courses offered. However, distance education students will find that they must devote a considerable number of off-duty hours reading, researching, and in the preparation of written assignments.
Most students will need to make sacrifices in order to fulfil their study program and should carefully consider at the outset what is involved in distance education study and weigh this against established priorities.
The recommended study load for distance education students with career and family commitments is the equivalent of two subjects each semester (ie four subjects per year), which is about half the normal study load of a full-time student. Most distance education students who work consistently can maintain good results at this rate. As a rough guide to the time required, expect to put in up to ten hours a week per subject.
The Gippsland campus library offers a comprehensive service to distance education students living beyond a thirty-minute drive from the university. The off-campus service includes borrowing books by mail, a photocopying service, reference and research assistance and access to CD-ROM databases.