Abstract
The need to make use of the growing source of material available through the internet and other computer networks confronts educational systems worldwide. As one development of growing importance, Virtual Campuses may be viewed as an attempt to counter this challenge and to revive the position of universities as traditional organizers of knowledge. The challenge is twofold: upgrading the current teaching and learning processes, and adapting the organization to an open world of networked communication. But so far limited experiences exist as how to reach these goals. In this paper, virtual learning and institutional change are discussed as two major ingredients. Along these key concepts, results from a survey of German universities are presented, complemented by experiences from a pilot study. The empirical studies serve to depict the range of scenarios and obstacles and should help to identify development paths towards a Virtual Campus.