Abstract:

Hellenic Open University (HOU) is the only Greek university that offers undergraduate and postgraduate studies using the method of distance learning. In 2016, HOU adopted a new strategic framework introducing several innovations, such as interactive educational activities, online tutor-student sessions and adoption of exclusively e-content, to strengthen the digital offering of its programs. Following up on past work that presented students’ opinion about new postgraduate programs, in this paper we focus on undergraduate programs. Our sample is 850 students who enrolled in two undergraduate programs both in the field of Social Sciences that launched in 2018. Following a qualitative model for data analysis, we present students’ motives, expectations and satisfaction regarding their studies. We also examine their difficulties and opinion about the educational activities and educational material. The results can be used to suggest improvements in teaching methodology, academic and administrative support.

Keywords:

Distance education, higher education, adult education.