THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 16, 1995 TAG: 9512160254
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
A half-dozen Old Dominion University administrators filed down the aisle Friday, wearing caps and gowns.
Music professor John Toomey played ``Pomp and Circumstance'' on his keyboard.
But it seemed something was missing at this commencement. Where were the graduates?
Not to worry. The 31 students were at community colleges across the state, listening to the final words of wisdom from the administrators on TV.
It sounds a bit remote, but that typifies the students' entire ODU experience. They were all enrolled in ODU's Teletechnet distance-learning program, which beams live, televised courses across Virginia.
Administrators decided to hold the unusual graduation to give the far-flung students at least a taste of the final hurrah of college. ``A lot of students can't come to campus,'' said Anne R. Raymond-Savage, who runs the program, ``and we wanted them to know how proud we are of them.''
Acting President Jo Ann Gora, wearing a red gown and black sash, told the graduates: ``It would be nice if we could be at each individual site. But I actually think this way of coming together, through the wonders of technology
The program began in 1985, when ODU started transmitting nursing courses to Northampton Accomac Memorial Hospital on the Eastern Shore. It's expanded in the last few years to serve more than 1,200 students at 17 locations, mostly community colleges.
The goal is to offer bachelor's degrees to students - usually adults with full-time jobs - who generally live in remote areas far from public four-year colleges. State officials have lauded Teletechnet as an economical way of expanding education in Virginia.
The graduates represented five of the sites, including Clifton Forge and Martinsville. Almost all got degrees in nursing or engineering technology.
At Friday's graduation, as during the school year, the students could not be seen, but they could be heard when they pressed the black buttons on their microphones.
Like a talk-show host, minus the sensationalism, Raymond-Savage sought comments from the viewing students about their long-distance experience. Befitting the day, they were all positive.
``I have really enjoyed the program,'' said Gwenlyn Eavers, a nursing graduate who took the courses at Blue Ridge Community College. ``This has allowed me to continue with my work life and family life and still obtain a degree that otherwise I would not have done.''
At Old Dominion, the graduation was held in one of the rooms in the Education Building where Teletechnet courses originate. Aside from the administrators, about a dozen faculty members attended. No beaming parents with videocameras, no wild whoops.
There were some nice differences for the graduates, though: They didn't have to wear caps and gowns (why bother?). And the ceremony lasted just half an hour.
Plus, administrators called out every one of their names, and singled out a few for special praise: Francis Tormen, in Annandale, took only a year to get a bachelor's degree in health sciences. James L. Chumley Jr., an engineering student in Roanoke, finished with a 3.94 grade point average.
As the graduates were announced, the TV screens at ODU showed a picture of each - one with a baby; another in a tux; Eavers in goggles, during a scientific experiment.
``I think it's more personal than the on-campus ceremony,'' said Raymond-Savage, an associate vice president. At ODU, ``we've gotten so big; we've lost the personal aspect of it.''
After the ceremony, the graduates enjoyed receptions at their sites with family and friends. At long last, the TVs and microphones were turned off. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
TAMARA VONINSKI
The Virginian-Pilot
Dr. Ernest J. Cross Jr., a dean at ODU, calls out the names of
graduates via television.
by CNB