If you're a typical American, you'll find e-mails advertising a distance learning program in your inbox every week. They advertise everything from earning your GED to a graduate degree.

Eight years ago, I found myself at the peak of my career but yearning for an early retirement. As a senior procurement official for a Federal agency, I had reaped the benefits of tons of semester hours of specialized business courses required for my job. However, even though I proved to be a good student, business classes didn't move me to any level of passion beyond a yawn.

I decided it was time to go after a lifetime dream: a master's degree in writing. One where you actually had to produce, not just read about producing. And I wanted to do it via distance education. In 2002, I completed my M.A. in Writing from Seton Hill University. To graduate, I had to write a publishable book.

Regardless of your motivation for enrolling in distance education, you'll need to consider some basic questions before finding the right program:

1. Online or on-site: Do you intend to complete all the work using the Internet, or would you prefer occasional residencies on campus? Programs that combine these features typically require you to come to campus sessions once or twice a year for up to a week at a time. These are intense sessions followed by online work, with the opportunity to meet fellow students and instructors. Some programs require local students to do all testing in learning labs on campus.

2. Employer reimbursement: If the area you intend to study is work-related, will your employer provide any tuition reimbursement for any of the programs you're considering? Time off work for on-campus sessions? Employer assistance is often the deciding factor between two programs; the company will pay for one but not another.

3. Accreditation: How important is it to you? If, for example, you want to train to become a paralegal, do you want to limit yourself to programs accredited by the American Bar Association? If a college degree is in your plans, do you want a school accredited by a national association? Information on accreditation should be available on the institution's web site.

4. Instructors: You will want to read their bios and perhaps even speak with a couple over the telephone. If you find no faculty information on the school's web site or it appears that only one faculty member teaches all the classes you would need to take, you should question whether this is the

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