COLLEGE EDUCATION VIRTUALLY ASSURED ONLINE.

Byline: Peggy Hager Staff Writer

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - For many people a college education is a dream: Jobs, children and distance are too much to overcome.

For the 2,800 students of Cerro Coso Online, many of these dreams are becoming reality. The ``virtual college'' lets them get assignments, answer questions from teachers and classmates, take tests and earn college credits via their home computers and the Internet.

For Teri Sanchez, 38, an innovative approach to college education is a necessity. Sanchez, who is married with one son and a husband in the Air Force, works full time as a supervisor at Edwards Youth Center on Edwards Air Force Base.

Although Cerro Coso College, a state community college based in Ridgecrest, has had an Edwards campus for several years, Sanchez's hours of employment prevented her from attending.

``Sometimes I have to work until 6. It's not possible for me to physically take a class, so this is the only way I have been able to do it. Before they offered it, I just couldn't go,'' said Sanchez.

Two to three times a week Sanchez will log into her classes in the virtual college of Cerro Coso Online. She will read the discussion comments from her fellow college students, check the syllabus to see what assignments are due and even take her midterms and finals online or by proctor.

Cerro Coso Online was started in the spring of 1997 by Matt Hightower and Paul Meyers who began with just two computer classes and 70 students.

Last year Cerro Coso was awarded an ``Innovation of the Year'' award by the League of Innovation for its online classes. The League of Innovation is a national organization composed of more than 500 community colleges.

< ``Every semester we've added classes. This semester we have 69 online classes, plus classes that teach instructors how to have an online class,'' said Rhonda Wilson, department assistant for Cerro Coso Online.

Online students can now earn 12 different associates degrees: administration of justice, business administration, business-general, business management, comparative literature, computer information system, economics, English, history, humanities, liberal studies, and social sciences.

Cerro Coso is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, which means that courses taken will transfer to California State Universities or Universities of California and students are eligible to apply for state and federal financial aid.

The best part of the virtual college is that there are no on-campus meetings. Students can enroll in classes, order books and apply for financial aid over the computer or by phone and access their grades online. Even the instructors are interviewed, hired and trained by phone and over the computer.

Although students don't have to report to a classroom at a specific time, courses taken at Cerro Coso are not self-paced courses. In order to receive accreditation for the online classes, instructors must follow strict guidelines, which include having students work at the same pace.

``You don't have to be at the computer at a certain time but you do have to follow the syllabus,'' said Wilson. Interaction with other students and with the instructor is achieved through class discussion groups or e-mail.

One of the drawbacks to online classes for Sanchez was the lack of interaction with a few of her teachers.

``I've had two you couldn't get a reply from for like a week at a time,'' Sanchez said.

Her only other complaint was that online she didn't really get to know your classmates.

Which is one of the reasons why online students need to be self-motivated and able to work on their own. Virtual classes are not suitable for students who don't know how to manage their time. Frequently, the online classes are more time consuming than on-campus classes.

Sanchez has one semester left to finish up her two years at Cerro Coso with an associate's degree in general education.

Requirements to attend Cerro Coso Online are simple: Students must have a high school diploma or GED, although some classes are open to high school students.

Potential online students also need to have access to the Internet and at least a 66 Mhz Macintosh or IBM compatible computer, Windows 95 or above, Netscape 3.0 or 4.0 or Internet Explorer 4.0 Web browser, a word processor, and an e-mail program.

Some courses may have additional requirements.

Cerro Coso class tuition for California residents is $11 per unit. For nonresidents it is $141 per unit. Most courses require the additional purchase of textbooks or materials.

For more information on Cerro Coso Online, check out their Web site at: www.cc.cc.ca.us/cconline/ or call their toll free number at [phone].