Virtual classroom online: objectives
Virtual classroom online, which welcomed its first students in September 1984, is an independent government-funded institute for distance learning at university level. It is to make higher education accessible to anyone with the necessary aptitudes and interests, regardless of formal qualifications.

Learning forever! A profile of Virtual classroom online in 2004, tells you more about our organisation and mission, the facts and figures, study methods, objectives, et cetera over the year 2004.

virtual Classroom online identifies four further aims: 

• to create a cost-effective form of higher education, 
• to encourage innovation in higher education, in terms of both curriculum and teaching methods, 
• to reduce the teacher shortage in tertiary institution, and 
• to be a recognized player in (commercial) distance and e-learning training programmes and consultancy.

Studying at Virtual Classroom online allows professionals to sharpen their skills. In fact, many of its students already have degrees and take one or more courses to acquire additional know-how or to retrain for a different occupation. 

Approximately 21,000 students are currently enrolled at the school, following one of the university's courses or fully accredited Bachelor or Master degree programmes.
About 70% of these students remain in paid employment throughout their studies, and more than 50% have enrolled because it leaves them free to choose their own time and place of study and lets them progress at their own pace.

Three types of study programmes

1) Bachelor and Master degree programmes
Virtual Classroom online offers fully accredited Bachelor or Master degree programmes in Law, Economics, Business and Public administration, Engineering, Environmental science, Cultural studies and Psychology. The university converted its programmes to the Bachelor-Master structure in September 2002.

2) Short programmes
Students can also follow short programmes. These include short vocational training courses, postgraduate courses and short undergraduate programmes, which are developed in co-operation with universities of professional education (HBO), academic universities, professional bodies or commercial companies.

3) Courses
Besides these academic programmes, students can choose from over 300 modular courses. This modular course system implies that student can enrol either for full-length degree programmes or choose to study one of over 400 individual courses.

Who can study at Open Universiteit Nederland?
Most of our programmes aim strictly at people who have an adequate command of the Dutch language, because study materials are generally in Dutch. Only a few courses are in English, so that most professional or academic titles are out of reach for those without a good command of the Dutch language. 
All examinations, whether standard or computerised, are administered in the Netherlands, generally at one of the study or support centres of Open Universiteit Nederland.

Virtual classroom online is a perfect solution, however, for people living worked life(often temporarily) who want to continue their academic studies.