Distance learning participants at correspondence schools Germany 2003-2022

Participants in distance learning courses subject to approval under the FernUSG. Participants are persons attending a university education program via distance education that is not aimed at obtaining a recognized academic degree.

* The 151,051 participants surveyed this year are composed of 52,915 distance learners in the non-university education segment in the period January 1 - December 31, 2015 (35.0%) and 98,136 distance students at universities in the winter semester 2015/2016 (65.0%). For the first time, there were no additional estimates. The significantly lower number of reported distance learning students compared to previous years - despite an overall slight increase in willingness to participate - is not to be interpreted as an indicator for a decreasing willingness to participate, but rather as a result of the changed approach. The changed classifications and questions were obviously presented by the large providers in particular - in this form unforeseeable - organizational problems, so that several of them were unable to participate (this suggests corresponding feedback). As a result, their participation figures were not taken into account in this year's survey.

** There is a considerable discrepancy between the number of participants in distance learning courses from 2018, according to the source this is probably due to technical problems during the survey in 2018. In 2018, information was collected from 61 training providers with distance learning courses that required approval under the FernUSG (2017: 67) and information from 13 training providers with distance learning courses that did not require approval under the FernUSG (2017: 74).

*** There is a considerable discrepancy between the number of participants in distance learning courses from 2019 according to the source, probably due to the pandemic and students having their course interrupted and then the resumption of the survey again in 2020.

**** According to the source, the participant numbers for 2022 are based on information from 51 providers. However, twelve providers did not provide any information on this, which may explain the discrepancy compared to the previous year.

The data from 2003 to 2019 were taken from a previous BIBB report.
Figures have been rounded for better understanding of the statistic.