Journal profile · EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Distance Education
ISSN 0158-7919 · eISSN 1475-0198 · Taylor & Francis
Distance Education: CAS Zone 2 · Education (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.09; JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 246 days to acceptance (36 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 5% (journal website); 26 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Distance Education is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 2 of Education in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Online and Blended Learning, Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods and Online Learning and Analytics, together about 49% of its articles. Its main subfields are Education. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Distance Education is a peer-reviewed journal of the Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia, Inc. The journal publishes research and scholarly material in the fields of open, flexible, online and distance education. One of the first journals published to focus exclusively on these areas of educational practice, it remains a primary source of original and scholarly work in the field. The journal welcomes submissions addressing research, policy, and practice across higher education, K–12/school education, and vocational education and training (VET), workplace and professional learning. Distance Education seeks contributions from all world regions and encourages research with relevance to diverse geographic, cultural, linguistic, and economic contexts. Theoretical works should draw on and contribute to the growing knowledge and innovations in the field to examine the interplay and relationships between critical concepts for learning at a distance. Empirical works should incorporate theoretical frameworks to guide the design and analysis of the study. All submitted research must adhere to relevant ethical review processes, with ethical compliance clearly stated in the methodology section. Distance Education welcomes high-quality manuscripts that advance understanding, policy, and practice in open, flexible, online, and distance education across diverse contexts worldwide.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Australia 3, United States 1 (4 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Online and Blended LearningSocial Sciences29.1%
- Innovative Teaching and Learning MethodsPsychology11.7%
- Online Learning and AnalyticsComputer Science8.2%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering5.2%
- Open Education and E-LearningComputer Science3.7%
- Higher Education Practises and EngagementSocial Sciences3.4%
- Communication in Education and HealthcarePsychology3.4%
- Higher Education Learning PracticesSocial Sciences3.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Education Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Education Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Education Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEERICCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: ProQuest, OCLC, Australian Education Index, Education Research Index, EBSCOhost
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.09LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.83LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.83Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.06LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.06Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 108OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 706OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.93OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 16.96%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 16LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 125,000Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2024
- 125,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,459 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 33 | 4 | 6 |
| 2025 | 26 | 12 | 91 |
| 2024 | 63 | 17 | 382 |
| 2023 | 44 | 21 | 462 |
| 2022 | 39 | 10 | 580 |
| 2021 | 36 | 10 | 1,504 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
246 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 157 days – 328 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 23 days (36 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 278 days
- Sample
- 36 articles with submission and acceptance dates (46 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 5%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2024
- 5%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 71 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 242 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 21 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, Open access
- Publication ethics
Research must adhere to ethical review processes with compliance stated in methodology. Model summary
All submitted research must adhere to relevant ethical review processes, with ethical compliance clearly stated in the methodology section.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Hybrid open access journal, part of Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program. Model summary
Distance Education is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and read…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 0158-7919
- Electronic ISSN
- 1475-0198
- Society / sponsor
- Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 47, Issue 2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Distance Education
What CAS zone is Distance Education in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Distance Education is in Zone 2 of Education, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Education & Educational Research. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Education. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Distance Education?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.09; CiteScore 5.6, h-index 108.
How long does peer review take at Distance Education?
Based on the dates recorded on 36 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 246 days (interquartile range 157–328 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 5% (2024). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is Distance Education in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 2 of Education.
Where are the editorial board members of Distance Education based?
Of the 4 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Australia (3) and United States (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Distance Education?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Distance Education is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists SCIE, ERIC and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Distance Education open access, and what is the APC?
Distance Education is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .