The role of the tutor in the university context and in distance learning: an exploratory research

The contribution focuses on the role of the tutor in online courses also in relationship to recent Italian regulation Ministerial Decree n. 6/2019 (“Auto-evaluation, evaluation, initial and periodic accreditation of the venues and courses of study”), that has introduced concrete indications on the presence of tutors in distance learning courses. In the first part, the study examines the evolution and skills of the tutor, with relation to the international debate on the spreading of distance learning. The second part concerns an exploratory survey conducted with the aim of collect the opinions and satisfaction levels of instructors and tutors on the tools used to monitor learning and support students in online courses (MOOCs) on EduOpen portal (https://learn.eduopen.org/). The need to strengthen and rethink the role of the tutor (greater professional recognition) has increased, particularly in the context of distance learning; in many cases the tutor is the main interlocutor of the students and as a support figure for the team of instructors is at the core of processes of didactic innovation.