Input for NCC Distance Learning College

Good morning,

Rick Kasparek forwarded you message to me requesting input for the
Distance Learning Council of the North Carolina Community College
System.

We have established a K-12 and post-secondary school which is entirely
online here in the state of Iowa, the Iowa Digital Education
Association.  Our most pressing problems are:

1. Completing the accreditation proces. It's extremely complicated and
without assistance from a professional, it would be very difficult for a
newcomer to complete.  We're making it, slowlyyyyyy!

2.  Another problem is that without the ability to accept financial aid
from federal programs, few students want to pay out of pocket for
classes. To get around this, we're instituting a 'scholarship' program
which would equal the financial aid they'd receive and will fund it
through fund our sponsors donate.

3. Our last problem is that students seem to feel we should have 'hard
copy' materials to send them through the mail. They don't understand
that being a 'paperless' school, we don't have this. Some students are
unwilling to take the time to look through the links and find the
information themselves. They still want it 'handed' to them. I'm afraid
this translate over into their homework abilities with some students.

Other than that, we seem to doing alright. Teachers have been very eager
to put their classes online. Being a virtual school, it's much easier to
put policy through, and much faster than a 'normal' school. We don't
have the issues that a fully staffed 'real' school would have and doing
everything over the internet is much easier.

If you have any questions about Ideaschool, please visit our web pages
at http://www.idea.edu/

-- 
Diana J. Hanson, CEO and Dean of Faculty and Staff
Iowa Digital Education Association
(Professional Genealogist, Listowner )
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What good is magic if it can't save a unicorn?
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http://www.idea.edu/ Ideaschool, Inc.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/5327/ Mother Hubbard's
Cupboard

Received on Sunday, 31 January 1999 10:48:11 UTC