About FernStudent
When it comes to distance learning, there is plenty of advertising and few reliable figures. FernStudent is an attempt to change that: the data on distance learning in one place, evidenced, independent and ad-free. Here you can read who is behind it and how the figures come about.
Why this site exists
Anyone who wants to know how many people study by distance learning, how many work on the side or what a distance degree costs will find very different figures depending on the source. What is missing is a place that brings the numbers together and openly says where they come from.
FernStudent is a data hub on distance learning. We do not compare individual providers and we give no paid recommendations. The goal is simple: to make the data on distance learning visible, in clear charts, with source and date. This turns scattered statistics into a picture you can trust.
The reports cover the big questions: how large the market is and how it is growing, how distance learners live and work, how much time the studies take up and what they cost. All in plain language, without marketing phrases, and every figure with source and date.
Our principles
So that you can trust the figures, we make the rules we follow when preparing them transparent.
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Source and date for every figure
Every figure on FernStudent carries its source and a date, from the German Federal Statistical Office to FernUni Hagen. No statement without an origin. Where no robust figure exists for a question, we say so openly instead of inventing one.
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Ranges instead of false precision
Where costs, duration or funding amounts vary widely depending on the provider and country, we give ranges instead of a single figure that only holds true for one special case. Better honestly imprecise than precisely wrong.
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Disclose the boundaries
Two statistics on the same question often arrive at different figures because they count different things. We explain what each one means, so that the values remain comparable and are not taken out of context.
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Independent and ad-free
No provider can buy a better figure here. There are no paid placements and no advertising banners. The connection to the consultancy is disclosed, and the analysis of the data remains independent of it.
Who is behind FernStudent
Transparency is part of a site that works with figures. That is why we openly say who is responsible for the data and what the connection to the personal consultancy looks like.
The publisher is Ritter Bildungs- und Digitalberatung, based in Balgach in Switzerland. The same company runs the consulting project Studienflüsterer, the free Studienflüsterer Academy and the ad-free information site Fernstudium Klartext. FernStudent is the data part of this network: here it is about figures, not about selling.
This closeness is intentional and disclosed. The preparation of the data remains independent of any specific provider. If, after reading, you would like personal advice, you will find it at Studienflüsterer; that is the route through which the offering is financed. The full details of the publisher can be found in the Imprint.
Ready for the next step?
Take a look at the reports, or get a personal assessment right away. Both are free and without obligation.