Monday, September 9, 2002

In Arizona, Lawmakers Want to Sell Computers From Failed Distance-Learning Program By DAN CARNEVALE Arizona lawmakers are considering how to use several hundred thousand dollars' worth of computer equipment left over from a failed distance-education program run by community colleges. The equipment was purchased for Arizona Learning Systems, created in 1996 to let community colleges offer online education to Arizona students. The Legislature closed the program last month. The community colleges want to keep the computers and video equipment for themselves. But legislators say the colleges have not put the equipment to good use, and now the lawmakers are considering selling the equipment to other state agencies. Whatever agency gets the equipment will have to pay for it, but the lawmakers don't expect to recoup the millions that the state spent for the technology. The Legislature provided $3.8-million over six years to get the distance-education program off the ground. But Arizona Learning Systems attracted only 118 students during its year and a half of operation, which started in the spring of 2001. Earlier this year, lawmakers asked Arizona Learning Systems to present a plan for increasing enrollment to the state Joint Legislative Budget Committee by the end of August. But program officials could not come up with an affordable plan to submit, so the lawmakers decided to shut down the program. "It would have taken another load of money to sustain the project," says Mike Emerson, executive director of Arizona Learning Systems. "We underestimated the amount of effort and support it would take to get that organization to go." Rep. Laura Knaperek, chairwoman of the joint budget committee, says the project failed because the enthusiasm for distance learning didn't spread as others had anticipated. Ms. Knaperek, a Republican, is also chairwoman of the state House of Representatives Appropriations Committee. "Some community-college districts liked it and worked hard to market it," says Ms. Knaperek. "Some did not." The $3.8-million paid for computer equipment and installation, as well as for nontechnology-related expenses. But the value of the equipment has dropped significantly over time. Now the most state legislators expect to get back by selling it is about $400,000. "That money is pretty well gone," Mr. Emerson says. Like many states, Arizona is facing a budget crunch. Lawmakers are wrangling with a possible $1-billion deficit in a $6.2-billion budget. "It bothers me to see money wasted, especially in a budget deficit," Ms. Knaperek says. The community colleges want to have a chance to keep the equipment for themselves. They have until October 21 to come up with individual plans for using -- and paying for -- the equipment. But lawmakers are also considering other agencies' requests. Officials of both the Arizona Health Education Centers, an organization that recruits underrepresented minority students into the health-care profession, and the Government Information Technology Agency, which develops technology programs for the state, have expressed interest in buying the equipment. Ms. Knaperek says she expects other states to go through some of the same problems as state-financed distance-education projects start to fall flat. She's grateful that problems arose early before more was spent. "We're taking our losses early, before we sunk a lot more money into it," she says. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

Affirmative-action rollback in Florida has not hurt minority admissions, state figures indicate Berkeley goes red, white, and blue after flap over campus's patriotism Students unaffected by September 11 in choosing colleges, study finds Former Georgetown U. employee wins sex-harassment case against top official Boston U. chancellor orders gay support group at university's prep school to disband Mexico's top court rules that public universities must submit to audits Troops break up demonstration at U. of Karachi, injuring dozens of protesters 34 colleges announce events to mark the anniversary of September 11 Macromedia cuts prices for volume purchases by colleges Independent college bookstores find that they must offer  services on the Web to be competitive In Arizona, lawmakers want to sell computers from failed distance program