Abstract:

Nowadays, more than ever, distance learning became a basic need for everyone who wants to get a university degree, without leaving home. This is the right decision for those who are not able to visit classes in the real life; for people who cannot afford not to go to work; for people with disabilities and special needs; and last, but not least, for people who want to study abroad and staying home at the same time. Distance learning means exactly that distance is no problem at all – kilometers are just a number and geography no longer exist for education. The fact is that different people learn in different ways and at different speeds. In a classroom, when everyone is being taught together, it is often difficult for every student to be “on the same page”. This is where distance learning has an advantage over a regular program.

The purpose of this paper is to make a summary of the universities in Bulgaria that offer distance learning. This includes answering the following questions – what kind of Bachelor’ and Master’s Programs they offer in distance learning; in what language is the provided content for distance learning; do they require any real presence or is it only online. And for this purpose, an overview of the way they present their distance learning content is made. One of the main questions is – is the provided content available for reading online and offline. And most importantly – how they make sure that the distance learning content is protected; what kind of resources or tolls they use to protect the provided content that is only for educational purposes. In this manner, the University of Library Studies and Information Technologies’ experience is presented as a good practice. One of the reasons for choosing ULSIT is because the provided distance learning platform gives lecturers both rights and obligations for the content they offer. There are strictly rules and responsibilities for the lectures. The results of this paper present the distance learning as a good choice in Bulgaria.

Keywords:

Distance learning, education, university, Bulgaria.