Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 23, 1994 TAG: 9408230085
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium
CNU Online, the first modem-degree program offered by a Virginia college, will make that possible starting this fall.
``We're not looking to close down the classroom or campus,'' said Buck Miller, a public administration professor. ``This is an additional service for audiences with small children, folks with shift work and students who can't get to campus.''
Christopher Newport began offering a few courses by computer several years ago and did it so well the General Assembly gave the university $390,000 for 1994-96 to experiment with an expanded program.
About 90 students have registered for the eight on-line courses CNU will offer. Nine more courses are scheduled to be added in the spring, with more offered later.
It's all part of Virginia's effort to find less expensive ways to educate more students. Middlesex County Sheriff Lewis Jones III said it's just what he's looking for.
For more than two years, Jones drove more than 100 miles each way from his home in Deltaville to Newport News to take college courses. That's not easy for a law-enforcement officer whose duties can beckon him 24 hours a day.
Jones, who just completed an on-line philosophy course, said he enjoys the steady exchange of ideas the classes require.
``I like the approach, because you're forced to work with your classmates,'' said Jones, who will complete studies in governmental administration on the computer. ``That's the way it is in the real world. You have to work as a team.''
Joining Jones in the electronic classroom will be Sandra Hogge, a Gloucester County utility department worker. Hogge, who dropped out of college 28 years ago, has driven thousands of miles in recent years to take classes at community colleges in Hampton Roads and the Northern Neck.
``I won't have to fight traffic and I can take courses that normally wouldn't be offered except during the daytime when I'm working,'' she said.
Teachers in on-line classrooms pose a series of problems for students to analyze together. Responses become mini-essays, which professors grade.
The only degree program CNU now offers via computer is a bachelor of science in governmental administration. If demand grows, CNU officials hope to offer more degree programs.
The only equipment needed is a computer linked to a telephone. The school provides toll-free access to students anywhere in the country.
The only time a student might need to visit campus is to pick up the diploma.
by CNB