College by Internet? This growing trend has made its way to Alaska and is doing very well.

• Author: West, Gail

Just a few years ago, someone who as part of the working world and ho wanted to further his or her education had to make delicate decisions in a balancing act among job, family and college classes. Degrees could take 10, 15 or 20 years to accomplish, one class at a time. That struggle, however, has been eased significantly with the spreading prevalence of distance education through Internet classes, giving students the ability to take classes at midnight or at any time of their choosing.

The University of Phoenix was among the early birds at offering classes through this medium, and Melissa Brown, associate professor in applied business and accounting at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said she cringed at the cost of those classes.

Today, however, Internet classes, and other types of distance-learning classes, are far more local, and Alaska's students benefit from them, and benefit from the ability to pay in-state tuition in order to take them.

All three of the University of Alaska campuses and Alaska Pacific University offer courses on the Internet. Sheldon Jackson, on the other hand, has yet to take the plunge.

APU

At APU, Beth Sullivan, director of distance education, said the university's Rural Alaska Native Adult distance education program encompasses all course work that fulfills three different degrees. Through RANA, students across the state can earn Bachelor of Arts degrees in education (kindergarten through eighth grade), organizational management, and health services administration.

"This fall," Sullivan added, "APU will add another degree to the RANA program--a bachelor's in human services."

APU's Internet classes began in 2000, after the institution's president, Doug North, used a grant from the Murdoch Foundation to provide startup funding for the technology infrastructure. According to Sullivan, the ability to reach out and provide classes for Alaska Native students in roadless communities was an integral part of APU's mission. RANA now attracts students from all parts of the state, rural and urban.

UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA

The University of Alaska, through its three main campuses, offers several degrees online, as well--primarily in education and business. Classes are listed in the universities' catalogs, alongside traditional classes.

Brown, who teaches for the Tanana Valley Campus of UAF, said her discipline has developed classes just in time for the students to take them.

"We started Internet classes in 2001, and we've...