Comparisons of Distance Calculus To Other Math Online Options

Distance Calculus @ Roger Williams University is a unique online course offering for Calculus-level courses for real academic, transferrable credits from an accredited institution.

Our Distance Calculus courses are designed around Mastery Learning and intense human interaction, unlink many other online and even hybrid Calculus courses avaiable around the internet.

Below are some links to explore the various other options around the internet. We want all students to find the right Calculus course for them to succeed. Distance Calculus is a different program than nearly all other online Calculus options. Perhaps Distance Calculus is right for you!

Distance Calculus - Student Reviews

Date Posted: May 26, 2025
Review by: Anonymous
Courses Completed: Applied Calculus
Review: Distance Calculus was the perfect answer to getting ahead in math over the summer of my junior year in HS. I was able to complete the entire course over the summer. The teacher was responsive and the course was understandable. Highly recommend.
Transferred Credits to: Syracuse University

Date Posted: Mar 17, 2020
Review by: Rebecca M.
Courses Completed: Calculus II, Multivariable Calculus
Review: Fantastic courses! I barely made it through Cal 1, and halfway through Cal 2 I found this program. I took Cal 2 and then Multivariable and I just loved it! SOOOOOOO much better than a classroom+textbook class. I highly recommend!
Transferred Credits to: Tulane University

Date Posted: Jul 12, 2021
Review by: Henry R.
Courses Completed: Multivariable Calculus
Review: Fantastic and unique course, particularly good for visual/spatial thinkers. The course forces you to develop a real conceptual understanding of the math concepts, as opposed to just teaching math formulas like other courses tend to do. There is a steep learning curve early on to get used to the software and the kind of course this is. Ultimately, I feel like what I learned will allow me to actually use the math and build upon it in the future. If you care about learning, rather than just passing a requirement, this is a great course for you.
Transferred Credits to: Harvard University

Distance Calculus - Curriculum Exploration

Analytic Geometry

P13: Analytic Geometry:

P13.1: Slice The Cone

P13.2: Ellipsi

P13.3: Hyperbolae

P13.4: Parabolae

P13.5: Polar Equations of Conics

P13.6: Parametric Equations

Course Information

How Distance Calculus Courses Work

HONORS Courses

Frequent Questions

Distance Calculus - Student Reviews

Anonymous☆☆☆☆☆

Posted: Dec 31, 1969

I.★★★☆☆

Posted: May 5, 2025

Courses Completed: Calculus II

The course material was well explained through the videos and notebooks, and it was nice to receive feedback on each assignment and correct any mistakes. However, the software required for the course was ridiculously outdated, to the point where I had to reinstall a very old operating system on my computer to even be able to run it. It was annoying and tedious to use, and it sometimes crashed. The graders were also sometimes overly picky about the way that concepts had to be explained to be considered correct (specific wording, etc), but it wasn’t too bad. Having multiple final exams seemed a bit excessive but again was not too bad. Overall, the main strength of this course is that it is completely asynchronous and self-paced, so I do recommend it if that is the most important factor to you. You will learn all of the material thoroughly, but you must be willing to deal with the more annoying aspects of the course (primarily the outdated technology).

Paul Simmons★★★★★

Posted: Apr 6, 2020

Courses Completed: Multivariable Calculus, Differential Equations

I took Multivariable and Diff Eq during the summer. The DiffEq course was awesome - very useful for my physics and engineering course. I was unsure about Mathematica at first, but I got the hang of it quickly. Thank you Distance Calculus!

Transferred Credits To: University of Oregon

Anonymous★★★★★

Posted: Jan 12, 2020

Courses Completed: Calculus I

This course is amazing! I took it as a requirement for admission to an MBA program, and couldn't have been happier with the quality and rigor of the course. I previously took calculus two times (at a public high school and then a large public university commonly cited as a "public ivy"), this course was by far the best and *finally* made the concepts click. Previously I had no idea what was going on because terrible PhD students were teaching the course and saying stuff like "a derivative is the slope of a tangent line" - ??? but what does that mean ???, but the instructors in the Shorter University course explain everything in ways where it FINALLY made sense (e.g., "imagine a roller coaster hitting the top of a hill, there's a moment where it shifts momentum and you're not accelerating or decelerating, that's what a 0 rate of change is - that's when the derivative would be zero"). They explain everything in multiple ways and relate it to other concepts. It all made perfect sense when I finally had a good instructor. Really recommend this class

Transferred Credits To: The Wharton School, UPenn

Henry F.★★★★★

Posted: Dec 18, 2025

Courses Completed: Differential Equations

Transferred Credits To: Saint Joseph High School

John ★★★★★

Posted: Nov 20, 2025

Courses Completed: Precalculus, Applied Calculus

Great course. Professor Curtis and the TAs graded quickly and gave really helpful feedback that made the class feel smooth and manageable. Definitely recommend it.

Transferred Credits To: Binghamton University (School of Managment)

Trevor★★★★★

Posted: Jun 19, 2025

Courses Completed: Calculus I

POSITIVES:
One of the best math classes I have ever taken. The lessons made the failures of my previous professors very apparent. In a few short minutes, things that I used to struggle with just clicked. This professor is top notch and really wants you to understand how to use the material.
NEGATIVES:
The SOFTWARE is extremely frustrating. Even after taking the time to learn, there are countless glitches. You learn to work around them, and overall, the software makes the math convenient, but its failures are sorely felt throughout the course. Make sure you save often as it crashes regularly, especially with graphs.
The assignments are easy enough but some of them don't line up with the taught material. Be prepared to do some of your own independent research to get a deeper understanding of why things are the way they are.

Transferred Credits To: US Army