Learning strategies and academic performance in distance education

The role of learning strategies in gaining academic success has been widely investigated for campus-based college students. Within distance education (DE) students, however, research on this relationship is limited, while this group of learners is growing. The present study was designed to investigate the relationship between learning strategies and academic performance in DE students. Participants were 758 students (age 19-71 years) at a distance education university in the Netherlands. An online questionnaire was used to determine learning strategies and exam grades were obtained from the university exam database to determine academic performance. Mixed model analyses showed that management of time and effort, as well as complex cognitive strategy-use were positive predictors of academic performance, whereas contact with others was a negative predictor of academic performance. Explanations for these results as well as their implications are discussed.