2000

WEEK OF c2 - 0 ¥ --0C

Virtua college, cyber-space degree

When it all comes together. ,t dents will be able to sit at ho and get their associate's dec. Sutphin said. Each area of the state of~·-­ sippi is divided into distnc~ each county is within a comm college district. ECCC serves •• ton, Winston, Neshoba, Scott Leake counties. This fall's ment at the college reached an time high of 2,228 degree-see students. The college also ... e some 6,500 students enrolled industrial training programs "Students can start here t heir credits (online or om transfer to just about any bae lor's degree program offert'd any of the eight institutioll:' m state," Sutphin said. Michael Stewart is a staff wntef for

there. Someone else logs on and says something else about that idea that causes another person to think about that idea. There will also be a lot of e-mail type of assignments where the student e– mails their completed project to the instructor. There will be quite a bit of interaction between the student and instructor in an online setting." ECCC will offer cours es in Computer Science, English Litera– ture and a non-credit course in Basic Computer Programming this spring. Each of the 15 participat– ing colleges will offer between two and four online courses this spring. "Eventually there will be entire degree programs online. It could happen within a year or it could be a couple of years down the line. -

( • Websltes • ) To access East Central Com– murHty College's website, go ·o www.eccc.cc.ms.us. To v srt the Mississippi Virtual Community College, go to www.ms.vcc,org.

The Mena a:- S:a: DECATL"R - 5: ... ci:Cs _.......-..,. for the cxn;.rSe ca~ tral Commum: Decatur need '1\"'alt no online. Just pul: up t e c , and it is all there - rou.?SE ings, admissions, you na..m.: That is interestmg enaug today's computer age. But :.ta.'"t– ing this spring students '\\ill be able to sit at home on a bad hair day, eat pizza and attend clas..;;es all at the same time. ECCC, along with the other 14 communitY col– leges in Mississippi, will begin offering cyber-space instruction. Dr. Phil Sutphin, dean of instruction .at ECCC , said the name of the program is the Missis– sippi Virtual Community College. "Students will go to a website.

They will have a log-on and pass– word for the course they have enrolled in. 'When they go to the web:.-ne and log on to their course, lesson,. will be provided at that point. It :nay be something they do independently or it may involve a chat room oppor,tunity. It could be something called a threaded dis– cussion, which is not time-depen– dent," Sutphin said. "You just put your idea out

Meridian Star. E-mail him at mstewart@meridianstar.com.

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