Virtual Mobility as an Inclusion Strategy in Higher Education: Research on Distance Education Master Degrees in Europe, Latin America and Asia

Mobility of higher education students is one of the main indicators of competitiveness among universities, and a key aspect for quality in education. Colleges with virtual and distance methodologies include student mobility programmes. Within this context, the Active Projects (Erasmus MUNDUS Programme, EC: Net-Active and Active-Asia) compare and evaluate the feasibility of Virtual Mobility programmes for students in distance learning courses at institutions in Europe, Latin America and central Asia. The methodological information, organisation and content of 256 master's degrees offered in distance learning programmes at universities from the three regions were analysed. This article presents and discusses the main results, particularly convergences and divergences among these regions, the issues affecting online and distance higher education, focusing on the development and delivery of postgraduate studies (MSc courses) and, especially, the possibilities of inter-institutional collaboration through Virtual Mobility. One of the main conclusions is that in order to advance towards internationalisation, higher education study plans should offer master's degrees comparable, understandable and consistent with other academic offerings. This article is the result of research conducted over six years by a team of scholars and experts from Europe, Latin America and central Asia.