Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(2): 2155-2161 2155 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.702.258 Awareness Level of Distance Learning Courses – A Study for Tamil Nadu Agricultural University M. Malarkodi*, V.M. Indumadhi and S. Praveena Department of ARM, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641003, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Distance education has been a natural outcome of the growing thirst for knowledge. It is especially relevant to the increasing educational needs of developing countries with their growing collaboration at regional, national and international levels. It is a means of acquiring knowledge and qualification without attending the college on a regular basis. “It is defined as institution-based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunication systems are used to connect learners, resources and instructors” (Simmonson, 2010). The distance education was institution based. The institution referred in this definition could be a traditional educational institution (school or college) or non-traditional institution (Businesses, company or corporations) that offer education to students at a distance. The second component of distance education is the concept of separation of the teacher and the student. Most often, separation is thought of in geographic terms: teachers are in one location and students in another. Asynchronous distance education means that International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 02 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Distance education had existed for more than a century, online learning was the current trend in distance education. Many universities in other countries were providing online degree at various levels such as associate degrees online, bachelor’s degrees online, master’s degree online, even Ph.D degree online. The study tried to assess the extent of awareness of students towards TNAU distance education programs. Considering the objectives of the study, sample respondents were categorized into Agricultural students and non agricultural students. The total sample size was 180 students consisting of 90 agricultural students and 90 non agricultural students. A well structured questionnaire was prepared to collect the required information. From the results, majority of the agricultural students were aware of TNAU distance education programme, whereas only 19 per cent of non- agricultural students were aware about the TNAU distance programme. The chi square analysis revealed that awareness about the TNAU distance education programme was statistically different between the agricultural and non agricultural students. The source of information about the TNAU distance education courses among the sample through friends and brochure. Keywords Awareness, Chi- square, Distance learning, Education Accepted: 20 January 2018 Available Online: 10 February 2018 Article Info