e-teach

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

While tearful goodbyes have long been a part of sending a child off hundreds of miles to college, such scenes in this modern high-tech world may -- at least in some cases -- become as nostalgic as raccoon coats and the Lindy hop.

Today more and more students are trading in ivy-covered buildings for a college in cyberspace where people from anywhere in the world can enroll.

So-called "distance education," which offers classes and sometimes degrees over the Internet, is on the rise in Nevada, as the two universities and the community colleges offer more than 100 Web-based classes.

"Part of the reason for the success of distance education is the convenience factor," said Brad Bleck, director of Community College of Southern Nevada's distance education program -- the largest in Nevada with 49 Internet classes and two dozen instructional and interactive Web and video courses.

"In today's world, scheduling, especially with older students who have jobs with funny hours, is a problem. Internet classes are much more accommodating to the learner."

Bleck said it should not be surprising that CCSN has a larger Internet course program than UNLV -- which offers 32 Internet and instructional interactive video classes, or UNR, which has 22 Web-based classes -- because the community college has more nontraditional students.

This includes firefighters, police officers, casino workers, older students, people who work swing and graveyard shifts and mothers at home with their children.

Last year CCSN had 1,100 students enrolled in the distance education program -- sometimes called a "university without walls" or "online university" -- with about 500 taking Web-based classes. This year there are 2,000 students, with 1,300 taking Web-based classes.

What is amazing is that so many CCSN students are opting to take Internet studies when 85 percent of the student population lives within driving distance of the school.

"The old choice was show up at 10 a.m. for class or forget it," said Bleck, who teaches English classes on the Internet. "This choice offers students the chance to do the work in the middle of the night, on weekends or in the morning when their kids are at day care."

But Bleck warns that students should not sign up for Internet classes if they think it is like old-fashioned correspondence school where they can do what they want at their leisure.

"We stress to our students that this takes discipline," Bleck said. "If you are the type of student who requires a teacher breathing down your neck, distance education is not for you. We need self-motivated students."

He also recommends that potential Internet students take time to learn their computer, especially if they just purchased it, and get some experience on the Internet before they sign up for such classes.

Charlotte Farr, director of distance education at UNLV, said Web-based studies also have had an influence on the traditional university setting.

"While we have 445 students enrolled in distance education, with two-thirds taking some form of Internet classes, we also have 298 classes on campus that use the Internet in some form or another," she said.

"We are providing access to education for people who did not have access before."

UNLV offers four Internet classes and 28 classes that are a combination of Web-based learning and instructional and interactive video.

While Bleck and Farr instituted their distance education programs in 1996, it was not until a year later that the Nevada Legislature allocated $3.5 million to develop the infrastructure for such high-tech education.

Today the Internet classes use websites, e-mail, videotapes, two-way television, fiber optics and satellites.

Bleck and Farr say they do not have a big problem with Internet cheating.

"Instead of an exam with 100 multiple choice questions, we have project-based tests to determine grades," Bleck said. "For example, in a short fiction course I have students research the Web and library then create a website for a particular author or story."

Farr said UNLV uses a proctor for Internet exams, requiring the student to come to the university. In cases where that is not possible, the exam is a time-limit test where the student has to know the material going in because he would not be able to complete it if he has to stop and look things up.

CCSN offers most of its English classes over the Internet, allowing a student to earn a two-year associate's degree in that field. Bleck hopes to offer associate's degrees in psychology and computer programming over the Internet in the near future.

UNLV hopes to one day develop a bachelor's degree in the hospitality industry over the Internet.

Some of the more interesting Internet classes offered by CCSN are cardio-respiratory therapy, astronomy and dispensing eyeglasses. The more popular courses include Spanish and beginning psychology, Bleck said.

Some of the more interesting Internet classes offered by UNLV are mythology, including American Indian beliefs, and statistical research. One of the more popular courses is hotel administration, Farr said.

Some students who take Internet classes at the college and university have told school officials they are using those courses as a starting point and that they eventually will complete their education by attending on-campus classes.

Internet classes at Northern Nevada campuses also are growing.

"It's grown rapidly over the last two years," said Kerri Garcia, director of UNR's online education program which began in 1998. "We're trying to add 10 to 15 courses at a (time)."

Truckee Meadows Community College offers about 20 online courses, and Carson City-based Western Nevada Community College will have 14 Internet classes for the spring semester.

Most Internet classes at Truckee Meadows and all of the ones at UNR are open-ended, meaning students can enroll by computer at any time and do the course work when it's convenient. Most online classes at Western Nevada follow a regular semester schedule.

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