The United States Distance Learning Association was the first nonprofit Distance Learning association in the United States to support Distance Learning research, development and praxis across the complete arena of education, training and communications.
In 1987, the USDLA was founded on the premise of creating a powerful alliance to meet the burgeoning education and training needs of learning communities via new concepts of the fusion of communication technologies with learning in broad multidiscipline applications.

An elected president, an Executive Committee, and a governing board now govern USDLA with Dr. John G. Flores as the Executive Director of the Association.

The learning communities that USDLA addresses are: pre K-12, higher education, continuing education, corporate training, military and government training, home schooling and telemedicine. In addition USDLA is also focused on national and international technology based Distance Learning

THE USDLA Journal: This publication, begun in 1987 as Ed at a Distance Magazine/Ed Journal, was the first academic, peer reviewed, national journal dedicated solely to Distance Learning. USDLA Journal (ISSN 1537-5080) transited from a monthly hardcopy publication to a monthly online publication, 1998-99. The journal is dedicated to dissemination of ongoing Distance Learning research, praxis and information/assessment of Distance Learning technologies in all areas of learning and training both in the United States and internationally. The Journal also focuses on legislation, state and national, that affects Distance Learning

USDLA has convened four National Policy Forums: 1991, 1997, 1999, and 2001 to provide support and focus for national leadership in promotion of the development and application of distance learning in education and training.
The 2001 National Policy Forum will be available on the USDLA website in Spring 2002.

The USDLA in partnership with Advanstar Communications sponsors two annual trade shows. Collaborate Conference & Expo (formerly TeleCon West) is usually held in the fall each year in Anaheim, CA and the e-Learning Conference & Expo (formerly TeleCon East) is held every April in Washington D.C. Both events bring state of the art technology companies and application providers to USDLA members and others. Nationally recognized speakers, special forums and concurrent sessions focus on the entire Distance Learning industry. These are major event gatherings for the Distance learning community.

Since 1993 USDLA has continued to establish state chapters in all fifty states. USDLA Chapters are designed to fulfill the needs of the USDLA membership as well as the distance learning community as a whole through local chapter meetings, state conferences and activities. USDLA State Chapters represent local offices of the national association as a nation wide resource for the promotion, development and application of distance learning for educating and training.

Support in implementation of the Snowe-Rockefeller Amendment to the 1996 Telecommunications Act and additional legislation supporting Distance Learning introduced jointly by Kennedy and Snowe, 1997.

January 1999, Dr. John G. Flores, Executive Director, USDLA, presented research and documentation for inclusion of copyright clearances for transmission of digitally based education materials equivalent to the copyright exemptions accorded analog education materials in Washington.

and other major sponsors provided input for the successful passage of e- Rate legislation to increase affordability for k-12 access to technology based education

USDLA through its mission of …supporting the development and application of distance learning… focuses on all legislation impacting the Distance learning community and its varied constituencies.