Efficacy of distance learning in planning-education: the case of a hybrid curriculum

Distance learning (DL) has proven its utility as a flexible teaching mode, yet the efficacy of DL in planning education (PE) is not known. This paper examines the effectiveness of DL in PE using a case of a work-based, collaborative and hybrid curriculum in India, a country with a severe scarcity of planners. A descriptive and inferential approach was used to evaluate the curriculum’s efficacy using data from course feedback, examination results, and job performance. This result shows that DL-based PE is effective with industry-academia collaboration, learner-centric pedagogy, and industry mentorship. A hybrid mode is preferred over a fully DL mode.