Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 24, 1995 TAG: 9507240100
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
They are earning degrees through ``distance learning'' courses taught via live TV - a growing trend across the United States, according to a study.
``Campuses are on the brink, if you will, of a real technology transformation,'' said Elaine El-Khawas of the American Council on Education, who did the survey.
And it's not just classes beamed in by satellite.
Nationwide, students are frequently sending in their assignments by computer. They use computers during class time for hands-on assignments. And they use computers to register, avoiding the long start-of-semester lines.
A few innovative campuses have pushed ahead with technological changes for a decade or more, the study noted. But the pace of change and its spread to campuses both big and small has quickened dramatically in the past few years.
The spring survey of 407 four-year, two-year, private and public colleges found:
At more than 80 percent of the institutions, at least half of the faculty routinely use personal computers;
At 66 percent, at least half of the full-time students routinely use computers;
At 40 percent, at least half of the part-time students routinely use computers.
More than one-third of the colleges said they make extensive classroom use of electronic technology. In the next five years, many said they plan to offer more distance learning, more electronically submitted assignments, and more computerized registration.
Some of the new technology has created new efficiency, El-Khawas noted. Many instructors, for example, had resisted recording grades on computer.
``What that meant for campuses was that they always had to plan both ways - both hard copy and computer - for everything they did,'' she said.
Distance-learning programs such as Old Dominion's create new opportunities for people living in remote areas. The Norfolk college beams classes to 16 community colleges across Virginia, offering undergraduate degrees in 10 fields, including nursing, counseling and criminal justice.
``We're reaching out to students who wouldn't have had access to our programs before,'' said John R. Broderick, assistant vice president for institutional advancement.
by CNB