Student Population Characteristics and Territorial Gaps: A Focus on Distance Learning

The article, starting from the spread of distance learning in the Italian university system and, specifically, from the development of online universities, focuses on the characteristics of the student population that enrolls in an online degree course. Starting from the literature, which allows us to hypothesize the denoting elements of those who opt for distance learning, the authors, on the basis of data from the National Student Registry, illustrate the characteristics of male and female students based on their preferences for teaching (in person or at a distance) and their territorial origin (north/center/south). The analysis, also through a comparison between different European countries, allows us to verify that the population that turns to online learning presents specificities of age and scholastic background and that, in Italy, the south is particularly affected by the phenomenon.