Friday, April 18, 2003

Group Plans New Services for Distance Education By DAN CARNEVALE The Southern Regional Education Board plans to offer new online services in the fall to help distance-education students enroll in Web-based courses and receive academic support. The project will offer services similar to those already being provided by individual institutions all over the country. But the SREB program will offer centralized online assistance to students enrolled in some 350 public and private colleges in the South. The SREB -- a 16-state compact that works to advance education -- started the project on a small scale about three years ago, basing it on services that the University System of Georgia was developing for its students. Georgia students can use online services to submit applications, register for courses, find library resources, and receive career-placement counseling. Establishing the regionwide program will cost $500,000 to $800,000, spread over several years. The funds will be provided by companies and agencies in the financial-aid industry that hope to lend money to students who use the program. No state agencies will put up money for it. The program, called Ways In Mentor, will focus on adult learners, says Bruce Chaloux, director of the SREB's Electronic Campus. With many students taking online courses from different institutions that are part of the Electronic Campus, the students need help keeping track of their course credits. Ways In Mentor will allow students to apply to multiple colleges online. After gaining acceptance to an institution, students will be able to use electronic "passports" to take online courses from other SREB-member colleges without having to go through long application procedures. The program will also keep centralized transcripts so that students can transfer credits among institutions within the program. Other services will help students find financial aid and learn about institutions in the Electronic Campus. Mr. Chaloux says adult students who take courses online often need more help from student services than do their younger classmates. "Adult learners may be coming back into education or learning after being away from it for a period of time," he says. One of the challenges in putting together the new program is making it work with 8,000 courses, 350 institutions, and 300 degrees across 16 states. But the company that is helping SREB, Xap Corporation, is already working with school districts in 11 of the SREB states, says Rob Miller, director of business development for the company. That experience, he says, will make it easier to work with colleges. The finished product, Mr. Miller says, will help adult learners start and finish their college careers online. "It's a one-stop shop for the student planning to go to college," he says. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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