PSU World Campus expands to 460 students after one year

By NIKKI VELISARIS
Collegian Staff Writer

Penn State World Campus, which began its pilot semester in January 1998, just celebrated its first anniversary.

Penn State began receiving inquiries about the program, which enables students to take Penn State courses through the World Wide Web, in November 1997. Today, more than 4,000 people have shown interest.

During the first semester, the World Campus started with only 26 students and enrollment now has increased to nearly 460.

"The program has been very successful and has grown considerably," said Craig Bernecker, chair of the joint subcommittee on the World Campus.

In January 1998, the World Campus offered only four courses. Last semester, 13 courses in four different programs were available, Bernecker said. The World Campus continues to grow with 17 courses in operation this semester.

Teaching a course for the World Campus is very different than teaching in a classroom, said Al Turgeon, professor of agronomy. A professor has to develop new tools and skills to teach in this arena, he added.

Both the professors and students of the World Campus have to make certain adjustments and meet challenges students attending classes do not face.

"One of the biggest challenges is learning to phrase things clearly on the Web," said Barbara Grabowski, associate professor of education. "It sometimes takes a lot longer to understand a student's question when you are not face-to-face."

By the end of the fifth year, the administrators of the World Campus plan to offer more than 300 courses in 25 to 30 programs and estimate an enrollment of 10,000 students.

"I think in the next millennium we are going to see many people taking advantage of opportunities that are available for lifelong learning," Grabowski said.

Most of the students enrolled in the World Campus are adult learners who already have degrees but want to learn more in their fields.

"Attaining a degree and getting a job no longer means the end of education for most people. Growing numbers of professionals who cannot take a hiatus or commute to a campus want education, and educators have a responsibility to provide for their needs," said James Ryan, vice president for outreach and continuing education.

The World Campus faculty intends to provide for these individuals, he added.

Most students enrolled in the World Campus live outside of Pennsylvania and several are from around the world.

"People out there are interested," Bernecker said. "I believe we are just seeing the beginning of a geometric growth in World Campus programs."