IHETS news archive
Major anniversary launches second annual “Indiana Distance Education Week”
INDIANAPOLIS—Ten years ago, educational opportunity in Indiana got a major boost with the creation of the Indiana College Network, or ICN. Indiana's colleges and universities had been active in providing distance education literally since the turn of the last century when Indiana University launched its independent study program. But distance education began a rapid climb in 1994 when the institutions created ICN. The statewide distance education service is celebrating its tenth anniversary in conjunction with the second annual Indiana Distance Education Week. Last summer, Governor Frank O'Bannon declared the first week of August as Distance Education Week, and a statewide observance is planned at ICN-affiliated learning centers across Indiana. The Blue River Career Center in Shelbyville will host a special open-house on August 4 on behalf of the College Cooperative Southeast (CCS). In July of 1994, ICN was a new collaborative service unlike anything that had been attempted elsewhere: all the public and private colleges in a state coordinating their distance education outreach to make sure that people throughout Indiana could easily find out about and participate in the wide range of educational opportunities becoming available to them in their communities, workplaces, and homes. Susan Scott , director of ICN, recalls that “we knew we were doing something important, something that could help make higher education a reality for more people in Indiana who had been excluded from that opportunity. But it was still a little risky—there were no models established for us to follow. Instead, Indiana became a model for others.” In later years, most other states formed their own state virtual universities, but ICN was the first and remains one of the largest because of the number of programs and classes offered and the number of course enrollments. Today, over 70 degree programs and 70 certificate programs are available statewide completely via technology, and enrollments for 2003-04 are expected to top 80,000 when the final tally is complete. According to Scott, that represents some 30,000 people last year. She adds, “Over the course of the past ten years, we've helped bring postsecondary learning to well over 100,000 people who otherwise would have gone without. And now we're extending our work in partnership with Indiana high schools to address smooth transitions from high school to college and the workplace.” ICN is a service of the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication System (IHETS), a long-standing consortium to share educational resources using technology. David King , IHETS executive director, credits ICN's staying power to the fact that it had a well-established base in IHETS. “Because the institutions had been cooperating through IHETS since 1967, there was a firm foundation for ICN to be successful. In fact, Indiana is one of only three states where the state technology infrastructure and the state virtual university are integrated in a single organization.” He adds that “ICN is an example of what we mean when we say that IHETS is about services that we can do better together than separately.” ICN itself does not offer degrees. The participating colleges and universities are fully accredited to offer degrees and also make available many certificates and continuing education opportunities. ICN serves as a single convenient starting point for would-be learners to find out how distance education works and which institutions offer programs that meet their needs. ICN also provides a coordinating mechanism to help students at one institution take classes from another without jeopardizing their financial aid. Participating higher education institutions include Ball State University, Indiana State University, Indiana University, Indiana Wesleyan University, Ivy Tech State College, Purdue University, Taylor University Center for Lifelong Learning, University of Indianapolis, University of Saint Francis, University of Southern Indiana, and Vincennes University. Partner organizations offering high school classes are the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics and Humanities, the Indiana Online Academy, and the Ripley County Learning Network. A network of 70 learning centers in 55 Indiana counties provides on-site support for distance learners as they pursue their educational goals. Many of these centers also serve as focal points for lifelong learning in their communities, often developing their own local continuing education opportunities, identifying community needs, and working through organizations like the College Cooperative Southeast and ICN to find providers to meet those needs. The original CCS learning centers were created at the same time as ICN and are also celebrating their tenth anniversaries this year. Related links:
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