If you want to learn in your own time, without the commitment of attending regular, fixed classes, online distance learning is a great choice. Instead of attending classes at school or college, you study at home or at work – whenever fits best around your other commitments. You remain completely in control, and by choosing to study with NEC, you also enjoy unparalleled levels of dedicated student support, access to a personal tutor, and top-quality learning materials.
We have over 55 years’ experience of providing distance learning opportunities for students of all ages, from home schooling to adults studying for qualifications they need for a promotion or career change. In those 55 years, we’ve pioneered innovative approaches to learning, and today we have a track record excellent grades that puts us head and shoulders above the rest.
Our tutors are all subject experts and our course materials are designed specifically for online distance learning – and written by distance learning specialists.
We believe that our carefully designed learning materials, personal tutor support and exam booking service provide our students with the best chance of success. We’re justifiably proud of what we do as we build on over 55 years’ experience of supporting over 750,000 students.
Your access to great learning content begins from the moment you enrol with NEC and find your course materials on learn@nec, our simple to use learning platform. Here, you’ll find your ‘Getting Started’ guidance and video, along with your course plans, specially designed activities and quizzes. Everything is designed and structured to support your independent study, and to enable you to meet your assessment and exam requirements, whilst building your knowledge and skills in your chosen subject.
As you progress through your course, you’ll find guidance on answering exam questions, and of course your personal tutor is with you every step of the way. Your tutor will guide you as to how to complete assignments before you submit them, and then give you considered, helpful feedback.
We’ll also encourage you to keep a personal learning journal, which helps you to chart your progress and reflect on your developing knowledge, skills and confidence.
You’ll communicate directly with your tutor through learn@nec, our simple to use learning platform. This will give you communication options which mean that you feel constantly supported and in touch, and your tutor will be committed to helping you achieve your best grades.
They’ll help to prepare you for coursework, assignments and exams and they’ll provide you with considered, helpful feedback after every assignment.
Our Course Advice team will help you decide whether a course is right for you and you can check for yourself by downloading samples of most courses. As soon as you’ve enrolled, you’ll also be able to access and explore learn@nec, our easy-to-use online learning platform. Now you can get started, studying at your own pace and in your own time.
Tutor support
Once you’ve decided and enrolled, we’ll email to confirm, and your personal tutor will get in touch. Your personal tutor will be there to support you throughout your studies, guiding you through preparing coursework and helping you to get ready for your exams (if you need to take any).
Your tutor will support you with:
- expert marking of assignments;
- carefully structured feedback;
- answers to subject-based questions.
Student Support
You’ll also have support from the Student Support team, who are there to answer general queries, guide you towards good study habits and help you deal with problems if they crop up.
The student support team will help you with:
- personal support when needed;
- answers to specific queries about your course, exam or assessment;
- arranging additional services, such as an academic reference;
- technical queries about learn@nec.
You’ll become part of a friendly learning community, so you’ll also be able to join in forums to discuss ideas with other students and tutors.
Online distance learning is flexible. You choose where and when to study, so you can fit it in with your other commitments – a career, bringing up children, looking after older relatives or managing an illness or disability. NEC’s courses are delivered through a range of media including videos, ebooks and online quizzes.
For many courses, you’ll need to sit exams to get your qualification. For some you’ll also need to take a non-exam assessment. At NEC, we know that finding and registering for exams at an approved centre yourself can be difficult, so we take the legwork out of finding an exam centre by offering you a guaranteed place at one of our partnership exam centres. This means you can concentrate on your course, and preparing for your exams, safe in the knowledge that once you’ve booked your exams with NEC, all the admin has been taken care of.
We’re so confident in our expert teaching, student support and high quality course materials, that we offer every student our NEC exam pass guarantee.
A tried and tested way of preparing for your exams is by taking mock exams using a past paper, we also offer a paper marking service so you can make sure you’re on track.
If coursework is needed, we’ll mark and authenticate it for you at no additional cost.
For students, these additional, free resources will help you to stay motivated, plan and organise your study time, and develop study techniques like planning, drafting and editing your writing. They also include guidance on using libraries and the internet for research, selecting and organising resources, and preparing for exams and assignments. We’ve also developed resources to help you to improve your spelling, punctuation and grammar, if you need to.
For some courses, you’ll get a free copy of an ebook to accompany the course. We’ll tell you when this is the case.
You’ll also be able to apply for a Totum card (formerly NUS Extra) this will give you discounts at a range of outlets from eating out to stationery.
Most students find that there is more than enough support to complete their studies, but if you need it NEC also offers optional services to stay on track. These include past paper marking, revision tutorials, mid-course reviews and UCAS application support, making sure you stay on track throughout your studies and achieve your goals.
There are other optional learning resources, in addition to your course materials, that you can buy through our online store, ideal to help you develop your study skills.
If you’re a home educator or teacher, these additional resources will help you to support your students to develop their study skills and techniques, whilst saving you time. You have the option of a single-user or multi-user licence, depending on your needs.
Before you make the important decision to enrol on an NEC course, why not find out what it’s like to study with us – for free? You can download a sample of the course material from the course page.
