In 2025, a new era will begin for private online colleges in Catalonia. Regional authorities have decided to bring order to the rapidly growing sector of distance vocational education. From now on, educational institutions will face strict requirements: exams may only be held on school premises, not in hotels or other external venues. In addition, students registered at Catalan centers will be allowed to take their final tests only within the region.
The online learning system for vocational colleges emerged in the region in 2012 and in just ten years has grown from scratch to tens of thousands of students. However, such rapid growth has revealed many issues—from overworked teachers to difficulties organizing internships for students. Previous attempts by authorities to regulate the situation ran into legal obstacles, but now a new draft regulation has been developed that is set to change the rules of the game.
Limits for large groups and new standards
Among the key changes is a reduction in the maximum number of students per group: starting in 2028, each teacher will be responsible for no more than 75 students, and for specialized courses, the cap drops to just 60. For practical sessions, the limit is even stricter—no more than 20 students per instructor. This is expected to ease the burden on teachers and improve the quality of education.
Authorities have also banned holding final exams in hotels—previously a common practice due to the geographic dispersion of students. Now, all exams must be conducted in licensed educational centers located in Catalonia. For other regions of Spain, only in-person classes are permitted, but not final examinations.
Student protections and new requirements for instructors
The minimum age for admission to online programs is now 18, although some intermediate courses may allow exceptions. All students will be entered into a special registry to enable monitoring of their performance and attendance. If a student submits a request, the administration is required to respond within two days.
Special attention is given to practical training: colleges are required to ensure that students have the opportunity to complete internships so that graduates do not face delays in receiving their diplomas. Instructors must have official employment contracts, and their workloads will be matched to those of staff teaching face-to-face programs.
Curbing uncontrolled growth and the response from the professional community
Authorities have also restricted the number of online groups compared to in-person ones, especially in fields where remote learning could undermine the quality of education. For example, in healthcare or animation, there cannot be more than three online groups for each in-person group. In other areas, such as IT or business management, there are fewer limitations.
While unions are still reviewing the document, associations of online instructors have already expressed cautious optimism. They believe the new regulations will finally put an end to teacher overload and bring working conditions closer to the standards of traditional education.
