The economics of e-learning was identified as a key priority for virtual campuses in the consultation workshop held in Brussels on 23 November 2004. The eLene-EE (Economics of E-learning) project has aimed to increase knowledge on the incentives to create virtual campuses and initiate teaching methods for education based on ICT and its effects, ensuring that this is efficiently carried out while reflecting the various situations at the partner universities. This RUSC special issue on the economics of e-learning shows the theoretical framework we have defined and some of the results we have obtained within the eLene-EE project, funded by the European Commission.

Our findings have clear policy implications and will help e-learning designers, learners, financers, and decision makers to build up, adapt, and improve their initiatives. The project is divided into five integrated research and development work packages (WP) with participants from universities in the eLene consortium (from Sweden, France, Spain, Italy and Poland).