Virtual campus

A Virtual Campus refers to the online offerings of a college or university where college work is completed either partially or wholly online, often with the assistance of the teacher, professor, or teaching assistant.

The University of Phoenix Online, with more than 100,000 students, is an example of the marriage between the virtual campus and physical campus. Many established and mainstream colleges and universities now offer many courses (or entire degree programs) either partially or wholly online. Other schools notable for their primary online presence include DeVry and Strayer.

Schools use a variety of tools for conducting classes - typically called Learning Management Systems (LMS) or Course Management Systems (CMS). CMS may also refer to CONTENT Management Systems. Some notable LMS' include Moodle, Sakai, Serco, Blackboard, WebCT, Angel, Desire2Learn, and eCollege. Blackboard and webCT command the lion's share of the commercial market, and Blackboard recently (as of Spring 2006) acquired WebCT.

ee also

* Computer-assisted language learning Computer-assisted language learning
* Diploma mill While many distance education programs provide valuable instruction, others offer degrees with little requirements.
* Distance education
* Educational technology (Related: Learning management system)
* Efficient learning method
* European Association of Distance Teaching Universities
* Online learning (aka E-Learning) (Related: E-learning glossary)
* M-learning
* Virtual education
* Virtual university