Since 2004, the University of the Highlands and Islands, in Scotland, has delivered an online MSc in sustainable mountain development (SMD). Students have the choice of exiting from the course with an MSc, a postgraduate diploma, or a postgraduate certificate. This paper first describes the history and delivery of the course, complemented with statistics on past and current students. This is followed by a presentation, analysis, and discussion of the results of an email survey of the 62 people who have gained a qualification from the course and could be contacted, achieving a response rate of 81%. The survey gathered information about each individual's motivations for taking the degree; benefits perceived with regard to its online nature; subsequent education; current location and employment; and ways in which the course had enabled them to contribute to SMD. Many quotations from graduates are presented, in response to previous findings that it has been difficult to evaluate long-term impacts of education for sustainable development. The paper concludes with some lessons learned from 15 years of experience.

中文翻译：

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苏格兰高地和群岛大学的山区可持续发展在线理学硕士：经验和影响

自2004年以来，苏格兰高地和群岛大学已提供可持续山区发展（SMD）的在线理学硕士。学生可以选择以MSc，研究生文凭或研究生证书的形式退出课程。本文首先介绍了该课程的历史和授课内容，并补充了过去和现在的学生的统计数据。接下来，将对通过该课程获得资格并可以联系的62位人员进行电子邮件调查的结果进行演示，分析和讨论，获得81％的答复率。该调查收集了有关每个人获得学位的动机的信息；就其在线性质而言的好处；后续教育；当前的位置和就业；以及该课程使他们能够为SMD做出贡献的方式。鉴于以前的发现，很难评估教育对可持续发展的长期影响，因此提出了许多毕业生的报价。本文总结了从15年的经验中学到的一些经验教训。