Monday, April 26, 1999
Download a degree from new Virtual University
BY MARK R. CHELLGREN
The Associated Press
FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Commonwealth Virtual University has a logo, mouse pads and will soon have T-shirts. It will never have classrooms or, presumably, a basketball team.
It is a leap of faith, physically and educationally. And it represents the next best hope for reaching an undereducated — often uninterested — population. It is supposed to replace, or at least assuage, the empire-building of the traditional universities and colleges intent on planting satellites, building extensions and extending their reach, if not their grasp.
“It is education anywhere, anytime,” says Mary Beth Susman, chief executive officer of Virtual U.
That may be hyperbole at this point, but it is the goal.
Eventually, a student is supposed to be able to enroll in his chosen college, technical school or university; apply for financial aid; take classes; buy books; visit a virtual library; and even graduate — all from in front of a computer screen, TV set or over the telephone. Some of the classes will be conducted so actual contact with another human being is not required — just like huge lecture courses on real campuses.
For those out in the ether who crave a real-time voice, a technical support center will be open 24 hours a day. Ms. Susman said she would like to have a call center with a human being on the other end of the line available 24 hours a day every day.
There are some hurdles to overcome while the bureaucracy catches up to technology. While Ms. Susman might call it anywhere, anytime education, the reality will be that courses will initially have to be started and completed in the same time frame as the ordinary school term or semester. On the other hand, most of the classes will be available when the student needs them. That way, a job can be accommodated, but it won't be as much fun skipping class and heading to the track. And where does one go on spring break from a virtual university anyway?
Not all the bugs are worked out. The Virtual U. Web site — www.kcvu.org — is under construction but still gives some clues about how things will work.
Nine programs are scheduled to be offered this fall term. And the selections demonstrate this is not just egghead higher education stuff.
One of the offerings will be for volunteer and paid firefighters to get the 20 hours of course work necessary to remain certified. The work also can be applied as credits toward an associate or bachelor's degree.
At the other end of the scale, a limited number of students will be able to enroll in a master's program in speech and language pathology.
One unusual aspect of Virtual U. is all of the public institutions and pri vate colleges and universities are involved. With that involvement has come some of the intermural competition and bureaucratic quagmire that has long bedeviled higher education, though remarkably little considering some of the longstanding rivalries.
Kentucky is uniquely situated to take advantage of take-home higher education. It is remarkably place-bound, evidenced by the fact there are 120 counties because people didn't want to — or couldn't or wouldn't — travel too far to get to their county seat. And for a state that in many other ways is a technological backwater, telephone and educational TV access is quite good. But while the state may be wired, in some respects, it also has among the lowest percentage of people who have or use access to the Internet.
Virtual U. does have some other things in common with any traditional campus. Acronyms are tossed about as if ordinary people have some idea what they stand for. The Web site introduction is sprinkled with references to the DLAC (Distance Learning Advisory Committee), CPE (Council on Postsecondary Education), HB1 (House Bill 1, the bill that authorized creation of the CVU) and CVU, Commonwealth Virtual University.
All well and good. But to really sell itself to Kentuckians, Virtual U. probably needs at least a mascot.
Mark R. Chellgren is Frankfort correspondent for the Associated Press.
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