Distance Education at a Campus University

The University of Professional Education Windesheim is a Campus University with about 17.000 campus students and nearly 2000 distance learning students. The purpose of this research was to evaluate distance learning at Windesheim and offer a set of recommendations for the future to the Executive Board. Six distance learning programmes at Windesheim were analysed by means of semi-structured interviews, surveys, cost analyses and analyses of existing surveys. Overall conclusion: It’s impossible to deliver education similarly for campus students and
distance learners. Dissatisfaction among students is often related to organisational issues, not to educational issues. A good preparation of a
distance learning programme is key; a vision needs to be transferred into a policy and a policy into practice. All aspects of education have to be reconsidered: ICT, intake policy, educational concept, developing education,
tutoring, organisation and collaboration with external parties. The first aspects to consider now are ICT, organisation and intake policy.