It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the North Dakota Center for Distance Education, formerly known as the North Dakota Division of Independent Study.

To reflect more accurately our mission and function as a quality distance education provider, the Governor of North Dakota officially changed our name to the North Dakota Center for Distance Education (ND CDE) on March 2, 2007. You may be wondering why we have chosen to change our name, so I’d like to provide you with a bit of history.

When the program was founded in 1935, it was called the Department of Correspondence Study, and it has undergone several name changes since then. In 1954, the program was named the Division of Supervised Study, and in 1971, the Division of Independent Study. Though this name has served the program well for almost 35 years, in the last ten years we have spent a great amount of time and energy developing our online program.

To reflect this new, progressive focus, it was important that we change the name of our program to the North Dakota Center for Distance Education (ND CDE) in order to remain a leader in the field of distance education.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, enrollment in distance education courses has nearly doubled since 1995. It is evident that distance learning is on the rise as more students turn to this highly flexible and portable education option.

Our program continues to grow and prosper because our faculty and staff want to ensure that the individual needs of every student are met. Every lesson, test, project, and final exam submitted to our program is personally evaluated by a certified teacher, and specific, individual comments are sent back to the student with each assignment. ND CDE is committed to making each student’s distance education experience a positive one. We strive to provide excellent customer service to all those who use our program. The administration, staff, and faculty at the North Dakota Center for Distance Education sincerely thank you for your interest in our program and for your continued support.

Sincerely,
Jon Skaare, Director