Students Access New On-Line Universities

Forget your jacket and shoes when you go to class this semester. Now college students can access classes on-line from the comfort of their bedrooms.

Over the past few years, Ivy League universities and community colleges nationwide have begun to offer a variety of on-line classes ranging from engineering to wine-tasting.

This fall, under the prompting of Governor Pete Wilson, California introduced the California Virtual University (CVU)-a Web site which allows anyone with a computer to take a class at a California university on-line.

Classes count for credit toward an undergraduate or a graduate degree through the extension schools at certain accredited institutions such as University of California at Los Angeles, Pepperdine and University of Southern California.

The Harvard University Extension School also offers on-line courses. The school includes "Calculus and Mathematics" and "Computer Science: Communication Protocols and Internet Architectures" for graduate credit in its course catalog.

The math class costs only $520 for textbooks and tuition, a relative bargain compared to most University classes.

American River College in California-which also offers extension school credit for classes taken over the Internet-gives even more of a bargain.

"Introduction to Cuisines of the World" or "Tasting Wine On Line," two of its classes, cost only $20 each.

In recent years, companies have used the Internet to market themselves to an increasingly computer-savvy youth generation. Now schools-with the support of state governments-have also jumped on the virtual bandwagon, including Governor Wilson, who established CVU by an executive order in April.

The courses offered by CVU range from interactive math programs to televised lectures and are self-paced.

More than 300 accredited California colleges and universities, including Stanford University and the University of California system, allow students to take classes through CVU.

Stanford University's home page boasts of its "flexibility," while American River College representatives say it allows students to "discover how to taste wine from the comfort of your own home."

Richard Halberg, a university staff member at the governor's office, said classes such as wine-tasting or screenwriting are "reflective of the diversity we are seeking."

"We are not just offering core classes," Halberg says. "We want to offer some fun classes [too]."

But Harvard Associate Registrar Thurston Smith says that the Internet courses can not be used for credit in the undergraduate program. Credit is only given, he says, "for work done in class."

"The Harvard position is that we will not give credit for it," he says.

CVU-the main site for California on-line classes-can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.virtualu.ca.gov/.

Halberg said the governor's office expects a couple hundred thousand people to register once the Web page design is completed.

However, he added that the page is still being developed, and organizers hope that the Web site will be fully functional by April 1998.

"We're still looking for public input," Halberg said.

The program is not limited to students in California. Anyone who has access to the Internet can register for classes.

"Someone in Jakarta can take classes at UC Berkley," Halberg said.

One might think that an on-line school would be bereft of school spirit. But program designers have included more than just a course catalog on-line.

By clicking on the "Name The Mascot" logo on the university home page, you can vote for a mascot for CVU.