Coventry University expects 60 per cent of students to be using e-learning facilities by the end of the year following a major systems upgrade.

Half of the university's 20,000 students already use the existing WebCT virtual learning system, but it is five years old and struggling to keep up with demand.

Upgrading to the latest version, WebCT Vista, will allow the university to expand the number of users in line with increasing demand.

Andy Syson, Coventry's head of learning technology, explained that the most common uses of the system are for the distribution of course materials and for online discussions among students and tutors.

"Some of the modules generate colossal volumes of traffic," he said.

The system is also being used to speed up the examination process through the use of online assessments.

"At the moment, this is limited to maths and information sciences, but earlier this year we got through 600 students in a single afternoon," said Syson.

The university's engineering and business departments are also using the system to enable some distance learning, although Syson believes this is likely to remain limited to higher-level courses such as MBAs.

"We are mostly using e-learning to enhance traditional face-to-face learning. Generally it does not replace lectures or seminars," he said.

Coventry was one of the UK pioneers of virtual learning. Following a pilot in 1998, the university rolled out the WebCT system to all 2,000 of its course modules in September 1999 and remains one of the most active academic users of the technology.

However, Syson does not see e-learning ever taking over entirely from traditional methods.

"I cannot see any university tearing down lecture halls," he said. "Online learning enhances the way students learn in the same way a library does. It's an additional layer of support for the students."