Flexible learning – Fostering successful online-based learning

Digital health care requires new competencies for all health care professional groups. Therefore, the University UMIT started an online-based, post-graduate master’s programme in Health Information Management in 2017. In order to meet student requirements, this program is strongly based on flexible learning. In particular, the program combines flexibility in the time and place of learning with flexibility in defining one’s own learning objectives and learning content, among other aspects. This paper presents the selected instructional design and then analyses the acceptance and challenges facing flexible learning from the student point of view, based on an analysis of log data and data from student evaluations and student reflections.