CALL Network students receive software for telephone connections and a course package that includes textbooks, audio cassettes, videotapes and other materials. Using electronic mail, they interact with instructors and classmates. Not kid stuff, the reading and writing assignments are heavy. Because computer classes create lots of work for instructors who must communicate entirely by typing electronic messages, only about 50 of Edison's 8,700 students are in the initial virtual program. Each semester, a schedule of five to eight courses are offered.
Materials cost extra.
Free catalogs are available on disks. Starting last fall, New Jersey began using video and computer technology to make it possible for community college students to receive a wide variety of bachelor's degrees while never leaving their two-year campus. Associate degree graduates transfer to Thomas Edison State College. Maximizing community colleges' facilities helps to level the playing field for students who may not have a computer at home, but whose education must include computer literacy to compete in tomorrow's world.