Internet education is growing in popularity

By Dharshani Dharmawardena

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

For various reasons, many students are opting to take distance
learning classes through the Internet instead of attending
traditional institutions.

“Students who enroll in our programs are working
professionals who are looking to enhance their skills,” said
Bill Rosenthal, president of Kaplan-College.com, a distance
education company.

“These are working adults who want to move ahead in their
jobs,” he said. “Their needs are very
specific.”

For others who live far from post-graduate institutions,
distance education offers a cheaper and more convenient
alternative, said Jack R. Goetz, President and Dean of Concord
School of Law.

“Although Concord is based in California, students hail
from eight countries,” Goetz said. “Seventy-four
percent reside outside of California.”

He added that taking courses online is cheaper than attending a
traditional school. For example, a four-year legal program at
Concord costs $4,800 a year, while attending a traditional law
school costs many times more.

Despite the ease and low cost of taking classes through the
Internet, critics say distance education prevents students from
experiencing the traditional “college life,” which
includes dormitory life or campus bars.

Rosenthal, however, said students looking at distance
educational facilities are not looking for traditional campus
life.

“Our courses are geared towards an audience whose work
responsibilities, family obligations, geographic constraints or
travel schedules make it difficult for them to attend a fixed
facility program,” he said.

UCLA, too, offers educational services through the Internet as
well as through video conferencing technology, where UC students in
one campus can see a lecture given in another through live
video.

“The goal is for the technology to become
transparent,” said Daytra Hansel, UCLA Teleconference and
Distance Education Specialist. “It’s the same level of
instruction even if students and professors are not physically in
front of one another.”

The Office of Instructional Development Distance Learning at
UCLA is connected to the statewide UC Videoconference Network and
offers approximately 25 courses through video conferencing, Hansel
said.

UCLA Extension also uses the Internet to teach, delivering
online education to 9,000 students in the US and 60 countries
abroad, said Lynette Cooper, program assistant for the UCLA
Extension Distance Learning.

The university does not offer bachelor’s degrees through
distance learning, Cooper said.

Although some distance learning institutions have extended their
services to students in elementary and secondary schools, many
undergraduate and graduate students also take classes offered by
online schools.

“They come to KaplanCollege.com to obtain academic
degrees, earn certification in their field, gain professional
development skills and ultimately use this professional training to
vault their careers to the next level” Rosenthal said.

Distance education, however, is not for everyone, Rosenthal
said.

“We have found that the students who will be most
successful are those who are self-motivated to participate
regularly in classes, self-disciplined to do the work and to allot
enough time for studying and attending classes,” he said.

Rosenthal added that students taking classes over the Internet
need to be comfortable with basic computer and Internet skills.

Classes offered by the University of Phoenix.com, another
distance education institution, also cater to older students
wanting to learn more skills.

Of the 15,000 students taking courses at the university, 60
percent are attempting to finish a bachelor’s degree while
the rest are pursuing graduate studies, a spokesman for the
University of Phoenix.com said.

Typically, distance learning students use the Internet, e-mail,
and telephone to communicate with their professors and
classmates.

According to U.S. Distance Learning Association, American
corporations are increasingly using distance learning services to
retrain 50 million employees because of the relatively low costs
and convenience of earning college credit through technology.

One of the challenges facing the spread of distance learning and
setting up degree programs is the issue of accreditation.

“Accreditation is an exacting process aimed at ensuring
the highest level of educational integrity,” Rosenthal
said.

Although the American Bar Association and the State Bar of
California do not recognize online law schools, Concord students
can technically practice law in California, Goetz said.

“Concord has complied with the registration requirements
of the State Bar of California,” he said. “Upon passing
the California Bar Examination, graduates will be qualified to
practice in California courts.”

In the future, Goetz said he could see more post-graduate
institutions springing up in the Internet.

Goetz said that top-ranked universities like Stanford and Duke
already offer programs ranging from engineering and business
administration.

“The ability to effectively deliver an online degree
program should be made on a case by case basis after a careful
analysis,” Goetz said.