The higher education environment in Korea has undergone a rapid transition to distance learning, driven by technological advancements and the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, the Ministry of Education launched a nationwide support project in 2021, establishing University Distance Education Centers (UDECs) across ten regions to enhance the quality of distance education and build supportive infrastructure. This study analyzes the relative efficiency of each regional UDEC and examines productivity changes over time using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI), both of which are non-parametric analytical tools. The DEA results indicate that the UDECs in Daejeon Chungnam-Sejong, Busan, and Jeju achieved the highest scale efficiency (SE = 1). Meanwhile, the Malmquist analysis revealed that most Decision-Making Units (DMUs) maintained stable productivity levels, although the Busan region demonstrated a declining trend over time. This study contributes to the literature by empirically evaluating the efficiency and productivity changes of a national distance education support initiative and provides foundational evidence for future policy development and benchmarking strategies. Therefore, the findings on regional efficiency and productivity trends highlight the need to establish and implement regionally tailored UDEC support policies in the future. 

Keywords : Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI), Distance Learning, Efficiency, Productivity