The Regional Structure of Higher Education and the Role of Distance Learning

In the time of the COVID-19 pandemic the importance of distance learning is being enhanced, while formal, full-time, face-to-face university education is being converted to distance learning. The study explores the role of the Universities in distance learning market and reveals the factors that influence the students’ university choice. The regional embeddedness of higher education in the Western Transdanubian region is analysed, highlighting the catchment areas of the region’s universities. The educational commuting of distance learning students to the region increases purchasing power, has a positive impact on the rental market, the labour market and can boost future settlement. Commuting, university selection and training selection behaviours of correspondence and distance training of students is examined using questionnaires. The aim is to establish whether the university selection of correspondence training students is influenced by distance and by the characteristics of the student‘s place of residence. The findings show that distance is one of the main factors during the university-selection process in the case of any kind of distance learning.