Michigan launches non-advanced placement courses for its virtual high school. (technology update).

Following its successful debut during the 2000-2001 school year, the online Michigan Virtual High School was slated to add several core subjects and electives to its roster of courses for the current school year.

The move comes at a time when more virtual high schools are springing up throughout the country as districts try to vary the course selections their students can take, and how they can take them. Michigan's virtual high school, which was formed by the Michigan Virtual University, offered Advanced Placement courses online last year in such subjects as English, chemistry and calculus. More than 1,100 high school students in the state took AP courses through the program that were administered through their individual high schools.

New for this year, the virtual high school is adding pre-algebra; algebra I; English I and English II; Information Technology Basics for business; German I and German II; environmental science; Spanish I and Spanish II; French I and French II; and developing pages for the Web. Courses range in price from $385 to $525 per semester, which individual districts decide whether to pay all or part of the cost or pass that cost onto the student. The price includes all course materials, such as textbooks or supplements.

Such online high schools allow districts to expand their curricular offerings to include courses they are unable to provide in a traditional classroom setting due to limited resources or student interest. In addition, it allows home-schooled, seriously ill or other students who are not able to be in school to take the same courses as their peers.

Michigan education officials say that the online core courses, such as pre-algebra, algebra I, English I and English II can help students avoid summer school or graduating late. Some of the elective courses, such as Information Technology Basics for Business, Environmental Science, Developing Pages for the Web and the language classes are not offered in many of Michigan's smaller high schools.

"Every guidance counselor in Michigan's high schools would like to offer students--and their parents--more options for meeting graduation requirements and for satisfying particular learning interests," David Spencer, president of the Michigan Virtual University, said in published reports. "With MVHS courses, they may not have to tell a student, `Sorry, your only option is summer school,' or, `Sorry, we don't offer German.'"

One potential drawback to virtual high schools, however, is that outside investment in many such ventures might not exist because after the dot-com crash, banks and other lenders are skittish about getting into pure-play Internet companies.

"Financial markets are much more discerning and funding for start-ups has been reduced significantly," says one observer, who wished to remain anonymous. "There have not been a lot of examples of companies showing profits. So, states will have to kick in substantial dollars into these programs."

The Michigan Virtual High School was formed with $15 million allocated to it by the state's legislature, and according to officials it will receive $1.5 million per year for maintenance and operation. It is a division of the Michigan Virtual University, a private, non-profit corporation established in 1998 by Gov. John Engler and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. as part of the governor's technology initiative, that included a $110 million plan to provide laptops to the state's K-12 teachers.

www.mivu.org