Virtual mobility refers to students and teachers in

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

using another institution outside their own country to study or teach for a limited time, without physically leaving their home. It complements physical mobility in which students travel to

study abroad International students or exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own. In 2022, there were over 6.9 million international ...

, such as within the Erasmus Programme. The two forms of mobility together constitute

academic mobility Academic mobility refers to students and researchers in higher education moving to another institution inside or outside of their own country to study or teach for a limited time. The Bologna process regulates academic mobility within European ...

. Student and teacher mobility are perceived as important quality issues in higher education. Virtual mobility has been defined as an activity that offers access to courses and study schemes in a foreign country and allows for communication activities with teachers and fellow students abroad via the new

information and communication technologies Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and compute ...

. Striving for a European educational space, the European Ministers of Education consider virtual mobility as a necessary addition to the traditional ways of studying abroad that require travelling. In Europe, databases like Educontact provide students with an overview of available courses. The public policy background is to be found, e.g. in the Leuven declaration on Mobility, by 46 European Higher education ministers. A

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that is not carried out in the interest of Profit (economics), profit. The opposite is Commerce, commercial, something that primarily serves profit interests and is focused on bu ...

guide to virtual mobility is suitable for universities and schools that start with virtual mobility.

Notes and references

{{Reflist, 2 Distance education Higher education

See also

Notes and references