Online Degree, Online Courses and Distance Learning in Armenia

In Armenia, a small nation in the Caucasus Mountains east of Turkey, online education and distance learning have exploded in recent years and have become an increasingly prominent part of the country’s education sector. Although the internet is still not as ubiquitous here as it is in some of the more developed nations of the world (about 50% of Armenians have an internet connection), the idea of learning online has nonetheless received a very positive response among the population.
 
Much of this growth is due to the tireless efforts of the ADLN or Armenian Distance Learning Network. ADLN was founded in 2002, when the concept of online education was still in its infancy, and has been highly successful, managing to register hundreds of students for each of its many courses. The purpose of ADLN when it was founded was not only to offer courses and provide a forum for debate regarding the advantages and disadvantages of employing online education techniques in Armenia, but also to help Armenians learn about these techniques and become accustomed to them. In this way, ADLN has had particular success, and it has blazed a trail for countless other programs to follow.
 
Needless to say, some of the same risks faced by online students in any country exist in Armenia – there is a chance that programs will be less effective or that the quality of instruction will be lower – but the widespread participation of traditional universities in the online format is an indication of the high regard in which it is held by educational leaders in the country. Colleges and universities in Armenia offer online courses in a variety of subjects, and there are even a few degrees offered from reputable colleges in online-only format. Examples include the standard online subjects – business, education, and psychology, but also somewhat more unusual programs in the Armenian language, Armenian history, and Armenian art. Institutions of higher learning in this country see themselves in many ways as a vanguard of the unique and distinctive culture of their nation, and online learning is viewed as a way of promoting that culture and helping others around the world learn about it.
 
Linguistic and cultural programs are targeted specifically at descendants of the Armenian diaspora, who live around the world in various countries. Ethnic Armenians living outside of their ancestral homeland are often at risk of losing their language and their cultural roots, and so Armenian institutions of higher learning see it as their duty to offer a means for these people to keep in touch with their ethnicity. Thus, online courses in the language and culture of Armenia are popular even outside this small, mountainous republic.