In many countries private provision of distance education coexists with public provision, offering an alternative route to credentials. Private institutions have been in operation in many places as long as public ones.

Unlike public institutions, which typically offer a broad range of options, private institutions often concentrate on a particular subject area. Business has long been a common concentration. And in many countries there are growing numbers of private computer schools and trade schools.

Such private institutions often present regulatory problems for governments, particularly when they begin to operate outside their country of origin, as many are now doing.