CYBERSCHOOL IS IN SESSION.

• Author: McDONOUGH, GERALD
• Position: Brief Article

In today's hyper-wired, zip-driven e-conomy it's the hottest thing on the web.

It's already bigger than eBay, Amazon.com and the tooth fairy. It has been touted as the greatest craze since the printing press. Some consider it as portentous to the course of human history as the Renaissance and the Reformation. For others, it is suspect. It's the virtual university (VU) and Utah is at the very center of its development and controversy.

Virtual Distance

The virtual university is part of the larger concept of "distance reaming," a tag that includes any off-campus class-delivery system. Distance learning includes, but is not limited to, online classes, telecourses, satellite-linked se minars, CD-ROM lectures and standard correspondence courses. However, the specific term virtual university applies only to those courses of study delivered via the Internet.

In years past, most--VUs were private,- for-profit--companies- that provided technical training and some college-level courses via the Internet. But the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges recently reported that nearly three-fourths of its members either participated in virtual university programs offered by online consortiums were starting VUs of their own. The median expenditure represented more than 5 percent of each school's operating budget.

In September, University of Utah President J. Bernard Machen asked the Utah State Board of Regents to approve budget that included $ 1.5 million for network upgrades and -- another annual expenditure of $6.5 million to maintain the University's computer networks, web pages, online interactive computer systems and links for increased online courses. Multiply that $8 million by the 200-plus U.S. universities and colleges already virtualized and it's easy to understand the hype and expectations for the online education market.

Leap or Lag

While Machen fought to free a few million from the State Board of Regents for Utah's flagship university, others in the state were busily tinkering with what some see as a potential rival for higher education funding: the Western Governors University (WGU).

As the brainchild of Gov. Mike Leavitt and former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer, WGU rolled out during the Western States Governors Conference in September 1998.

"It's one small click for mankind ... and one giant leap for distance learning everywhere," Gov. Leavitt proclalmed, as he used a virtual pair of scissors to cut a virtual ribbon...