Title: Kein Folientitel
1Friedhelm (Fred) Nickolmann Virtual Mobility at
Virtual Erasmus Week 2006 09 March 2006
2FernUniversität in Hagen - Basics
- The only distance teaching university in
Germany
- Established Dec. 1974 / Opened Dec. 1975
by Act of Parliament of the State of
Nordrhein-Westfalen - Not a national university,
- but acting nationally (and internationally)
- Integral part of the regular public higher
education system - - Similar activities in research and
teaching
- - Fully in line with campus universities
- - equal rights, equal duties
- - same tasks and functions
- - same standards and admission
requirements - Key figures (2005/06)
- - 44,000 students
- - 80 professors
- - 355 academic staff / 710 acad.
support staff - - 610 administrative staff
3(No Transcript)
4Students per Faculty 1999/00 // 2004/05
5Profiles and Categories of Students
2005/2006
- Profiles
- 29-35 years median age of students
- 80 in employment
- 23 earned a first academic degree already
- 60 male --- 40 female
- 8 foreign nationality (5 living abroad)
- Categories
6Categories of Students from Abroad
- Germans living or working abroad
- Foreign nationalities with particular interest in
German language, culture - and science
- - employees in international environments
- - preparing for physical study in Germany
- - young academics / scientists / researchers
- - re-emigrants
- - former students from German campus
- universities
7Studying from Abroad Support 1/2
- Study material to addressees abroad sent first
by air mail - Return of tests and written tasks
- Special fax no web-assign
- Written examinations (ex neighbouring countries)
- Goethe Institute / German School
- Embassy or Consulate
- Practical course
- ? Travel to Germany (temporal visum)
- ? Aquivalents
- Library services direct lending out of study
books, copy service for articles - Student contact lists
8Studying from Abroad Support 2/2
- Special admission and administration office
(Studentisches Auslandsamt Foreign students
office) - Special counsellors at faculties
- Study centres abroad
- Austria (7) Bregenz, Deutschlandsberg, Bad
Goisern, - Saalfelden, Steyr, Villach, Wien
- Switzerland (2) Brig, Pfäffikon
- Hungary Budapest
- Latvia Riga
- Russia (2) St. Petersburg, Smolensk
- Estonia Tallinn
- Third-party contribution / own budget
(Austria, Switzerland, ...) - - staff - supplies/ equipments - facilities
-
9Study Centers Offers, Activities
- Infrastructure
- (rooms, personnel, technology, library)
- Information point
- Administration
- Contact and communication
- (meeting fellow students and faculty staff)
- Counselling / Tutoring
- Seminars / lectures (face-to-face)
- Examinations (face-to-face, video)
- Needs analysis
- Collaboration with local and regional
institutions and business
10Special example The Budapest Distance Study
Centre Fernstudienzentrum Budapest
- Since winter semester 1991/92 complete range of
study programmes of the FernUniversität - Hungarians enrolling for German-language
programmes of study at Universität - - German university degrees
- (undergraduate/graduate)
- - academic further education programmes
- growing number registered simultaneously at
FernUniversität and at Hungarian university - (to improve language skills and subject related
knowledge) - about 400 enroled students per semester
11Hungarian Students at German Universities (2002)
12Double-degree programmes (since 2002)
- Economics students of the University of Pécs
enrole at the FernUniversität to finally obtain
degrees from both universities - - Additional studies (2 ys part-time)
- - 75 students enroled some already finished
- Same kind of cooperation with Széchenyi István
University Györ (economics) and the Budapest
Business School (economics computer science)
13The path to a Hungarian-German double-degree
gt
14 "Virtual Mobility" already in place at
FernUniversität in Hagen Summary
- All 44.000 students are virtually mobile
- - studying from home or workplace at
FernUniversität based in Hagen - - - 6 of students living abroad
- Study Centres abroad
- Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Russia, Baltic
States information, support - services, classroom meetings, exams (written
oral videoconference) - Double Degrees
- Hungary, Russia, Baltic States, Czech
Republic - "Bologna Process" Instruments
- BA/MA structure, ECTS, Diploma Supplement
- ERASMUS University Charter
- European Network activities
- EUNITE, EuroPACE, EADTU
- Use of ICTs (Online courses, CSCL, CURE)
- Open Access Studies
- studying any course without pre-requisites
15Specific Example Real systems in virtual lab
PC as virtual lab
Real systems
Home or workplace of student
Real lab
16The Bologna Declaration -Joint declaration of
the European Ministers of Education 19 June 1999
- Adoption of a system of easily readable and
comparable degrees (Diploma Supplement) - Adoption of a system essentially based on two
main cycles (Bachelor, Master) - Establishment of a system of credits (ECTS)
- Promotion of mobility by overcoming obstacles to
the effective exercise of free movement with
particular attention to - - for students, access to study and
training opportunities and to related services - - for teachers, researchers and
administrative staff, recognition and
valorisation of periods spent in a European
context researching, teaching and training - Promotion of European co-operation in quality
assurance - Promotion of the necessary European dimensions in
higher education
17Forms of Mobility of Students
- Physical Mobility (PM)
- on-site physical travel stay in a country
abroad - for limited period
- takes substantial amount of time / creates
additional cost - student experiences face-to-face activities and
meetings, teaching and the everyday life of the
country - social, cultural and educational enrichment
- Virtual Mobility (VM)
- from home, university or work place / no physical
stay abroad - no restrictions in length of time spent studying
- time and cost effective
- limited face-to-face activities
- access to courses and study schemes in foreign
country communication with teachers and fellow
students abroad via ICT - academic educational experience
- (interaction intercultural competences)
18Mobility of Students
- one scheme two different forms
- gt Physical Mobility (PM)
- gt Virtual Mobility (VM)
- to be conceived as different but equal
educational concepts - neither is inferior to the other
- each has its own profile and legitimacy
- complement / reinforce each other in various ways
- Virtual Mobility is sometimes the easiest or only
solution for international mobility
19Thank you for your attention
www.fernuni-hagen.de