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Europe Catching up on Online Education
BRUSSELS, September 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Rapid growth in offer, demand and funding - new portal on distance learning launched
The availability and popularity of online education in Europe are on the rise.
Following the revolutionary developments in online learning in the US, Europe is now
catching up, increasing both funding and infrastructure. To build awareness for European
online learning, a new web-portal brings transparency to the quickly growing options
available.
In the last decade, the US has heavily invested in online education: it is projected
that US online education will outgrow traditional education by 2015. Already today,
renowned institutes like Stanford and MIT offer massive online courses for free - followed
by up to 100,000 students worldwide. Europe now heads in the same direction. Within its
upcoming 'Erasmus For All' programme the European Commission makes more funding available
to support distance education in Europe.
Traditionally, in Europe online education has been associated with commercial
institutes, sometimes of doubtful quality. As distance learning however makes higher
education more accessible and affordable it "has become an important answer to the current
educational challenges and will significantly impact our educational landscape", states
Piet Henderikx, Secretary General of the European Association of Distance Teaching
Universities (EADTU). Today, about 500 European institutes provide short courses and
entire degree programmes at a distance - with continuous success: last year student
enrolment increased 15-20% while the offer grew with 40% as reported by universities
across Europe. That makes online education an increasingly serious alternative to
traditional education - and disproves many still widespread misconceptions.
A new portal will now be launched to bring transparency to the quickly growing study
options: http://www.DistanceLearningPortal.eu. Funded by the European Union and
developed by the European study choice platform Studyportals and EADTU, this central
information source will support orienting learners worldwide to study abroad from home. On
27 September 2012 the portal will officially be launched by Commissioner Vassiliou at the
EADTU annual conference in Cyprus.
To date, already 180 institutes participate in this European initiative (88 in UK and
3 in Ireland) ranging from Open University to London School of Economics - listing a total
of more than 1,200 Bachelors, Masters, PhDs and Short Courses.
[Ambient Insight Market Study 2011]
More information on Studyportals: http://www.studyportals.eu.
More information on http://www.distancelearningportal.eu: contact
press@studyportals.eu or call +31402920060.
StudyPortals
Europe Catching up on Online Education
BRUSSELS, September 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Rapid growth in offer, demand and funding - new portal on distance learning launched
The availability and popularity of online education in Europe are on the rise.
Following the revolutionary developments in online learning in the US, Europe is now
catching up, increasing both funding and infrastructure. To build awareness for European
online learning, a new web-portal brings transparency to the quickly growing options
available.
In the last decade, the US has heavily invested in online education: it is projected
that US online education will outgrow traditional education by 2015. Already today,
renowned institutes like Stanford and MIT offer massive online courses for free - followed
by up to 100,000 students worldwide. Europe now heads in the same direction. Within its
upcoming 'Erasmus For All' programme the European Commission makes more funding available
to support distance education in Europe.
Traditionally, in Europe online education has been associated with commercial
institutes, sometimes of doubtful quality. As distance learning however makes higher
education more accessible and affordable it "has become an important answer to the current
educational challenges and will significantly impact our educational landscape", states
Piet Henderikx, Secretary General of the European Association of Distance Teaching
Universities (EADTU). Today, about 500 European institutes provide short courses and
entire degree programmes at a distance - with continuous success: last year student
enrolment increased 15-20% while the offer grew with 40% as reported by universities
across Europe. That makes online education an increasingly serious alternative to
traditional education - and disproves many still widespread misconceptions.
A new portal will now be launched to bring transparency to the quickly growing study
options: http://www.DistanceLearningPortal.eu. Funded by the European Union and
developed by the European study choice platform Studyportals and EADTU, this central
information source will support orienting learners worldwide to study abroad from home. On
27 September 2012 the portal will officially be launched by Commissioner Vassiliou at the
EADTU annual conference in Cyprus.
To date, already 180 institutes participate in this European initiative (88 in UK and
3 in Ireland) ranging from Open University to London School of Economics - listing a total
of more than 1,200 Bachelors, Masters, PhDs and Short Courses.
[Ambient Insight Market Study 2011]
More information on Studyportals: http://www.studyportals.eu.
More information on http://www.distancelearningportal.eu: contact
press@studyportals.eu or call +31402920060.
StudyPortals