The main advantages are speed and cost; your tutor can receive your work and give feedback much more rapidly, as you don’t wait for parcels to be shipped back and forward (with the ever-present danger that they could go amiss in transit) and all that postage is expensive, so we estimate that there is a saving to the student of around £500 in postage alone by studying art online.
Online course students do have some extra expenses when they study textiles online if they wish to print off modules etc, but this is more than compensated for by not having to pay postage and packing costs when submitting work. We are very conscious that travelling of samples and paperwork is very harmful to the environment we live in, and with your help, are trying our best to cut down on this wherever possible. Online courses cut down by almost 75% the carbon footprint left by other forms of distance learning, although it is worthwhile stressing that distance learning itself is very environmentally friendly when compared with travel to traditional on-site classes.