Virtual Universities Computer And Modem Bring Education To The Student For Those Who Prefer The On-Line Option Over Traditional College

How’s this for the college life: Go to class and never take a single note. Never ask the prof to “repeat that, please.” Never step into a classroom.

Such is the life of the on-line student at a “virtual university” - a real-life college or university you attend via computer. More and more, students are earning college degrees - two-year, four-year, master’s or doctorate - without ever setting foot on a college campus.

All you need is a computer, modem and printer, a software program to access an on-line service or the Internet, and a slightly different idea of what going to college entails.

“I always say that people shouldn’t have to come to the classroom to learn,” said Eric Boehm, president of the International School of Information Management in Denver and a contributor to the “Oryx Guide to Distance Learning” (Oryx Press, $98.50). “This is the information age. It has been the information age. It’s only logical that the classroom should come to them.”

In Florida, two institutions - Nova Southeastern University in Davie and Brevard Community College in Cocoa - offer degrees on line.

NSU, which began offering graduate courses on line in 1985, now offers about 90 computer, education and information sciences graduate courses on line each year. In the school of computer science, 561 students are taking classes on line this quarter, and 237 of them are on-line-only students.

Indeed, one former NSU on-line student was a pilot who saw action in the Gulf War. He would fly his sorties at night, land, file his flight reports and then log on and attend class.

Brevard began offering courses on line last fall with three degree programs; it now has 11 degree programs with 84 students enrolled on line.

Albert Koller, associate vice president of international education at Brevard Community College, knows some people won’t understand the concept easily.

“Mentally, it takes a leap,” he said. “It’s a huge change in how we do business today. We are rethinking and reinventing how we educate.”

On-line learning has its roots in distance learning, that is, correspondence courses and night or weekend classes.

As technology improved, the correspondence course evolved into televised courses. An instructor, with or without students present, was taped as he or she delivered a lecture. The tape was then aired at a later date or in satellite locations.

A partnership between Broward Community College and Edison Community College in the Naples area took this a step further.

In BCC’s physical therapy assistant program, a BCC class is broadcast live to a class of students at an Edison campus. The Edison students watch the BCC class on a television monitor. If there are questions, a voice-activated camera in the Edison classroom focuses on the student asking the question, and the instructor answers it.

That type of learning requires students to be in class, however. That isn’t always feasible for the average distance education student, including those on line, who generally are older than the 18- to 22-year-old college student. Most are between 30 and 50, have full-time jobs, children and/or work that requires travel.

Hence, on-line learning. As people grew more comfortable with computers at work, home computers proliferated. Those who became members of an on-line service, such as America Online or CompuServe, could find seminars on various topics on line, some for credit.

From there, it was a short leap to programs like America Online’s Electronic University Network. Since 1987, EUN has been an on-line education service provider. It now works with nine schools, offering 30 on-line degrees, from associate in arts to doctorates.

As of now, most major universities don’t plan to offer undergraduate courses on-line in real time. The mechanics of classes on-line for large numbers of students can be daunting - imagine 50 students in a class of 400 trying to ask the same question at once.

It takes time and money for distance-learning programs, too, and schools are financially squeezed. Additionally, not every student has access to a home computer, nor can universities provide that access.

For the traditionalist, on-line learning sounds pretty impersonal, and students and professors say it can be.

One of the debates about on-line learning is which method - synchronous, or real-time learning; or asynchronous learning - is better. Those who favor asynchronous methods, in which students download the material at a time most convenient to them, contend real-time learning doesn’t solve the time problem that holds many back from pursuing education.

Yet those who favor real-time learning say it’s necessary to have the students together, that it’s more like a traditional classroom’s free flow of ideas. Some professors try to foster student interaction by requiring students to submit a brief bio of themselves that is kept on line so classmates can access it.

Mike Gunter, a graduate student attending NSU on-line, has doubts about how well that works. He said he doesn’t know his classmates very well, even with the bios and after spending hours on line with them.

“It’s not like taking breaks together,” he said. “There’s a lot of things you don’t get sitting in front of a computer. There’s no raised eyebrows, half-grins or rolled eyes. If someone wants to be emphatic, capital letters and exclamation points are about the only options.”

Students say the classes require more diligence because the courses demand independent study and a higher level of accountability. When an assignment is submitted, it is time- and date-stamped electronically, so there is no fudging on when it was sent.

MEMO: Two sidebars appeared with the story: 1. TIPS FOR DISTANCE LEARNING The best bet is to begin with the continuing education or academic advising departments of the schools that interest you. Be persistent - not everyone is familiar with on-line education. A few tips: Watch for wrinkles. Brevard Community College’s on-line program, for instance, requires that all tests be proctored. The proctor has to be found by the student and approved in advance. Proctor payment is not included in the school’s fees. Find out whether the course is accredited, and by whom. Generally, if the institution is accredited, any distance-learning programs are also. Be alert to the cost. A Utah student would pay out-of-state tuition to attend Brevard Community College’s online classes. Think about whether distance learning is for you. Many people need the camaraderie of the classroom, as well as the discipline of getting up and going to class. Generally, people who do well in distance education programs are highly motivated self-starters.

2. TO FIND OUT MORE Check out these sources: Peterson’s, the publisher of numerous college guidebooks, has published “Electronic University: Guide to Distance Learning” (also available online at http://www.petersons.com). The “Oryx Guide to Distance Learning” also gives valuable information; a contributor to it is Eric Boehm, president of the International School of Information Management in Denver. ISIM won the United States Distance Learning Association’s award for the best program in higher education in 1995. The Distance Education and Training Council in Washington, D.C., is an accrediting body for distance programs. For a directory of accredited schools, call (202) 234-5100.