About WKU Distance Learning

The Office of Distance Learning at WKU is made up of four areas: Online Learning, Independent Learning, the DL Testing Center and Distance Learning Center. Each area is dedicated to serving distance students, WKU faculty and academic departments who provide distance opportunties for students.

Online Learning refers to online semester based courses taught via the Internet. There are more than 30 degree programs available online at WKU, and more than 1,000 online courses offered each year!

Independent Learning refers to self-paced, open enrollment courses offered via Internet, Email, or Print. Courses are non-semester based and have open enrollment, which means you can sign up any day of the year! There are approximately 100 courses available through IL.

The DL Testing Center opened in 2005 to provide proctored testing services to Distance Learning students. With the tremendous growth of online learning at WKU, the DL Testing Center has gone from proctoring a few hundred exams a year to proctoring over 10,000 exams annually. The Testing Center also assists WKU students in finding proctored testing sites near their homes and sends out exams to those testing facilities. In addition, students from other universities are welcome to take their proctored exams at the WKU DL Testing Center.

The Center of Technology Services for Online Teaching (Distance Learning) was opened to support faculty teaching online at Western Kentucky University. The core goal of the Center is to provide faculty with a one–stop shop for all their concerns and needs in terms of online teaching and learning. With this aim in mind, staff at the Distance Learning Center research, develop, and assess best practices for web-based instructional technologies that can potentially enhance student learning.