Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 13, 1990 TAG: 9005090515
SECTION: DISCOVER THE NEW RIVER VALLEY PAGE: 13 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES HIGHER EDUCATION WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
You're lucky. The New River Valley isn't one of them.
The valley claims three schools near its heart, each boasting a different character and occupying its own niche in the state's system of higher education.
There's Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, the state's largest university, Radford University and New River Community College in Pulaski County.
Tech offers undergraduate and graduate classes in eight colleges. A faculty of 2,000 teaches everything from architecture to veterinary medicine.
Area residents interested in taking a class or two for "personal enrichment" may do so by registering as a special student, officials said.
Aspiring students need only file a one-page application, submit a letter saying why they want to take the course and pay the $10 registration fee. The application process does not require submitting a transcript.
By definition, special students are not working toward degrees, nor are they permitted to take more than 11 credit hours (most academic courses are three credit hours). Should a special student want to start working on a degree, that student must submit a transcript and formal application to the university.
Classes, unfortunately, are not free. Virginia residents pay $101.50 per credit hour, meaning that the Civil War course you always wanted to take would cost more than $300 - if you didn't just move here from some other state. In that case, it'll be $727.50. And that doesn't include books.
But be forewarned: auditing a class - attending the lectures and reading the assignments, though not for academic credit - costs too.
Still interested? Good. Education is good for the brain. Call the admissions office at 231-6267.
And, for the record, Tech officials generally discourage high school students aiming to take advanced math or college English courses, though exceptions sometimes are made. It's not unusual for them to direct those queries to New River Community College in Dublin.
At the community college, would-be students can take one class at a time and never have to worry about majors and minors.
But they first have to complete a simple application and pay the $97.80 that covers tuition for a three-credit course as well as the mandatory facility and student-activity fee.
Want to audit the popular world literature course? You may, but you gotta' pay - though senior citizens may sit in for free so long as there's room.
"We do have an open-door policy. You don't have to have a high school diploma or a GED," said Joyce Taylor, a college spokeswoman. Many of the school's 3,800 students take courses for personal and professional development, with no eye toward a degree.
Some classes - such as English and mathematics - require a placement test to make sure students are enrolled in the sections for which they are best prepared. For more information, call the admissions office at 674-3600 and ask for extension 205.
At 9,000-student Radford University, the story's the same. Classes cost $89 per semester hour, the same to audit; graduate classes are $4 more. Part-time, non-degree seeking students should register for courses through the school's continuing education program.
And for those over 24 years old who've had a few years of college and want to finish at Radford, there's the bachelor's of general studies program. Applications must be filed through the continuing education program, which is headed by Peter Balsamo. Call 831-5483.
by CNB