2005:49 R
Review of Sweden's Net University, Final report 2: Accessibility, recruitment and extra funding
Sweden´s Net University, which coordinates the IT-supported distance courses offered by higher education institutions, began to operate in the spring of 2002. One of its objectives was to offer higher education to individuals from different backgrounds and also make higher education more accessible both geographically and in terms of time. During an initial period the higher education institutions were allocated extra funding for courses offered through the Net University. After only a few years a wide range of IT-supported distance programmes are now being offered through the Net University. In the autumn semester of 2004 it had 37,900 students enrolled. This amounts to 11 per cent of the total student population in higher education.
The vast majority (two-thirds) of the net students are studying only in the Net University. One-third combine net studies with on-campus studies or traditional distance courses. Many students are women, have taken courses in higher education previously and are over 34. The students often take short, single-subject courses for only a few credit points each semester.
The accessibility of higher education has risen as a result of the creation of the Net University. The range of courses offered has become larger and there are now more programmes that are flexible and can be adapted to fit in with the lives of the individual students. The Net University´s courses have been collected to enable Internet searches, which makes it easier to look for flexible educational programmes. Many new courses have been designed especially for the Net University and a number of courses previously offered for other modes of study have been adapted for the Net University. The range of courses on offer is varied but there is a preponderance of short, single-subject part-time courses that demand no previous study of the subject concerned.
The Net University helps to broaden recruitment to higher education in enrolling beginners from groups that traditionally have not been adequately represented at university level. Recruitment to the Net University is broader than recruitment to on-campus programmes but similar to traditional distance programmes. This means that the Net University recruits a large proportion of beginners from working-class homes, a large proportion living in rural areas and smaller towns, a large proportion of elderly students and a large proportion of beginners who are parents. However, the proportions of beginners with foreign backgrounds recruited by on-campus programmes and the Net University are more or less the same.
Many Net University students, both beginners and others, live lives that demand a great deal of flexibility in their studies, as parents for instance or in areas remote from any higher education institution. The Net University attracts a large proportion of mature students who have previously studied in higher education and are now returning. As the Net University offers a wide range of short, single-subject courses and many students take only a few credit points each term, there is a great deal to suggest that the Net University plays an important role for lifelong learning.
Until the end of 2004, the higher education institutions received enhanced funding for courses offered through the Net University. During this initial period the range of distance courses offered with IT-support increased greatly, both in terms of student numbers and courses available. During the entire period more FTE´s have been produced in the Net University than the extra funding had been planned to allow for. The higher education institutions that have been awarded the largest amounts have also offered a large number of Net University courses and vice versa.
Net University students
The vast majority (two-thirds) of the net students are studying only in the Net University. One-third combine net studies with on-campus studies or traditional distance courses. Many students are women, have taken courses in higher education previously and are over 34. The students often take short, single-subject courses for only a few credit points each semester.
Greater accessibility to higher education
The accessibility of higher education has risen as a result of the creation of the Net University. The range of courses offered has become larger and there are now more programmes that are flexible and can be adapted to fit in with the lives of the individual students. The Net University´s courses have been collected to enable Internet searches, which makes it easier to look for flexible educational programmes. Many new courses have been designed especially for the Net University and a number of courses previously offered for other modes of study have been adapted for the Net University. The range of courses on offer is varied but there is a preponderance of short, single-subject part-time courses that demand no previous study of the subject concerned.
Broader student recruitment
The Net University helps to broaden recruitment to higher education in enrolling beginners from groups that traditionally have not been adequately represented at university level. Recruitment to the Net University is broader than recruitment to on-campus programmes but similar to traditional distance programmes. This means that the Net University recruits a large proportion of beginners from working-class homes, a large proportion living in rural areas and smaller towns, a large proportion of elderly students and a large proportion of beginners who are parents. However, the proportions of beginners with foreign backgrounds recruited by on-campus programmes and the Net University are more or less the same.
The extent to which the Net University has broadened recruitment to higher education is restricted somewhat by the relatively small number of enrolments on its courses.
Lifelong learning in the Net University
Many Net University students, both beginners and others, live lives that demand a great deal of flexibility in their studies, as parents for instance or in areas remote from any higher education institution. The Net University attracts a large proportion of mature students who have previously studied in higher education and are now returning. As the Net University offers a wide range of short, single-subject courses and many students take only a few credit points each term, there is a great deal to suggest that the Net University plays an important role for lifelong learning.
Positive impact of the extra funding
Until the end of 2004, the higher education institutions received enhanced funding for courses offered through the Net University. During this initial period the range of distance courses offered with IT-support increased greatly, both in terms of student numbers and courses available. During the entire period more FTE´s have been produced in the Net University than the extra funding had been planned to allow for. The higher education institutions that have been awarded the largest amounts have also offered a large number of Net University courses and vice versa.
According to the higher education institutions, the extra funding has been important for the development of courses for the Net University. Without this extra funding it would have been difficult to undertake the measures needed. Many higher education institutions have used some of this extra funding centrally to make it possible to offer net courses. Even without the extra funding the higher education institutions will continue to offer net courses, although it is possible that they will invest less in the development of new courses. It is also the case that if an institution has to make savings, single-subject courses are usually the first to be affected, which also has an impact on the Net University.
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Swedish National Agency for Higher Education Visting address: Luntmakargatan 13 Box 7851, 103 99 Stockholm
Phone: 08-563 085 00 Fax: 08-563 085 50 Email: hsv@hsv.se
Phone: 08-563 085 00 Fax: 08-563 085 50 Email: hsv@hsv.se
