Distance learning courses are those programmes, modules or short courses that are offered to students who study entirely at a distance. That is, they need never physically attend the Queen Mary campus in order to successfully complete their studies.
This mode of study is particularly beneficial to students who value the flexibility it allows to fit study around work, family and location. Distance learning courses often attract a global audience since high travel, accommodation and visa costs are largely avoided.
MOOC stands for “Massive Open Online Course” and is a particular kind of distance learning course developed for very large cohorts of students stretching into the tens of thousands, and delivered free from any fees. MOOCs are typically delivered via custom-built platforms designed to handle large numbers of students, and the main players include Coursera, EdX and FutureLearn. Currently Queen Mary does not run any MOOCs and does not have a partnership with any MOOC providers. There are however a number of traditional distance learning courses run at Queen Mary and this page provides some support for these.
Whilst offering a distance learning programme is a good way to attract students, and can be equally rewarding for staff, it does present particular challenges that need to be considered from the outset. If you are thinking of developing a distance learning course, you will need to consider how the teaching, learning, assessment and administration will work when students will never, or very rarely, be on campus.
As this area of the website develops, you will find guidance documents to support you; case studies of those at QM already engaged in distance learning; and resources you can use with your students. For now, please find below our pointers for success that should get you thinking.