Correspondence courses originally consisted of printed classroom lectures and study material sent via postal service to the student. The student/teacher communication took place through letters exchanged between parties. "The History of Distance Education" by Michael Jeffries says that by 1961 the National Education Television Network had educational television shows on 53 stations. Nevertheless, correspondence learning remained almost wholly in the domain of postal exchanges between student and teacher until 1972.
By 1972, distance learning through televised educational programming was being used for off-campus studies by students from Ohio University, the University of Texas and the University of Maryland, according to "The History of Distance Education." These television programs were designed specifically for the learning needs of the remote student, unlike the materials sent to correspondence students.
Very few postal-oriented correspondence schools exist today. However, one area of education that still functions through correspondence by post is art education. As of 2011, there is not a suitable electronic means to transmit art in its full textural and aesthetic form from the student to the teacher for critique. Other modern uses of mail correspondence studies are special courses for the incarcerated and tightly focused educational objectives that are not commonly part of a normal course of college studies, such as basic Bible study techniques and courses on learning to play the guitar. Correspondence schools provide audiovisual material in the form of CDs, DVDs and recorded instruction. Also, the study material is more tailored toward the needs of the home student than in the past.
Distance learning takes full advantage of the electronic resources and multimedia available through the Internet and other networks. Real-time communication is available between student and teacher through email, instant messaging and group forums. An Internet search for "correspondence schools" yields links to many schools that offer only distance learning courses. This is mostly due to the nature of Internet search engines' keyword search strategies. However, distance learning and correspondence learning are actually two different ways to gain education from home.
The Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) is a nonprofit organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the only accreditor of off-campus learning programs. It is the DETC's responsibility to accredit both distance learning programs and correspondence learning programs.