Las Vegas -- Enrollments in distance education courses offered by UCCSN institutions continue to grow, proving that many Nevadans are interested in pursuing a college education, wherever they may live.

"Student interest in distance education is gratifying," says Mike Downey, distance education director for Western Nevada Community College. "We are constantly challenged to meet all of the need in our communities."

From fall 1997 to fall 1999, headcount enrollments in distance education courses have grown from 2,640 to 3,927 students, an overall growth of 50 percent. Each term (see chart below), the growth over the previous term has consistently been around 10 percent to 20 percent.

However, such growth has caused some problems. "Our interactive video classrooms in Battle Mountain and Winnemucca are being used an average of over 50 hours per week," noted Garry Heberer, Great Basin's director of external relations. "It will be tough to add courses for these communities without additional classrooms."

And while distance education is often thought of as mainly for rural communities, the fastest-growing enrollments have been in Las Vegas.

"CCSN has seen enrollments grow from 328 in 1997 to 1,781 in 1999, due largely to the needs of Las Vegans for on-line courses they can take at their own convenience," noted Brad Bleck, distance education director for CCSN.

There is every indication that the demand for distance education programs will continue to grow. Students often ask for occupational programs they can enroll in without coming to campus and for courses that will help them advance in their careers.

Growth in the use of the World Wide Web has fueled an explosion in the number of distance education courses and enrollments across the UCCSN. The System has experienced a phenomenal growth in web-based courses, from 49 courses in fall 1998 to 103 web-based courses in fall 1999. Every institution has expanded its web courses to contribute to this System-wide growth.

In fact, CCSN currently offers an entire Associate of Arts degree that can be earned over the web and now has 49 courses available over the web. UNR has been rapidly moving its traditional correspondence study courses over to the web and this fall TMCC initiated elearning@tmcc to market its growing presence on the web.

However, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Web-based learning has exploded on each campus, with each UCCSN institution offering faculty opportunities to learn how best to incorporate the web into their classes.

"Although it is difficult to know the exact number, I would guess that UNLV faculty are using the web in 300 to 400 on-campus classes," offered Dr. Charlotte Farr, distance education director for UNLV. "Faculty at UNLV have really responded to the web and see its potential for improving what they do in their classes."

This growth in web-based courses promises to continue exponentially. Of the 233 courses offered this term, more than 110 are web-based.

The UCCSN's on-line distance education catalog can be viewed at http://www.nevada.edu/disted.

Comprised of two doctoral-granting universities, four comprehensive community colleges and one environmental research institution, the University and Community College System of Nevada serves the educational and job training needs of the nation's fastest growing state. As Nevada's only system of higher education, the UCCSN provides educational opportunities to more than 90,000 students.