Are the days of reference books listing courses numbered? Probably not. But prospective students with web access can eliminate much of the work in tracking down the course of their choice by going directly to college websites or by accessing sites dedicated to listing courses.

We were curious to know what students encounter when they use the web to search for a course. So, posing as prospective learners keen to study homoeopathy, we visited a range of sites.

1. The International Distance Learning Course Finder: www.dlcoursefinder.com

Developed by the producers of The International Who's Who in Distance Learning book, this site claims to provide the 'largest one stop international resource' for those interested in distance learning courses. Users are invited to search via a keyword/course name, subject, country or institution name. Keying in 'homoeopathy' produced six entries and a click on each entry gave information on the course, the address of, and all other courses offered by, the institution in question. The site was easy on the eye, clearly presented, simple to navigate and reasonably fast. Colleges might like to note that course listings on this site are free.

2. Open Learning Centre International: www.olc.ccta.ac.uk

Course listings on this site are part of a larger website. Course information is easy to access and divided into four clearly defined sections. Selecting the A-Z listing meant scrolling to reach 'homoeopathy': tedious if the target subject was zoology but it did turn up some fascinating subjects along the way. At homoeopathy, information on the course was good, & well laid out.

3. National Extension College: www.nec.ac.uk