She said the conference was primarily for regents before and she didn't realize it was for faculty as well. Bankirer and her colleagues will focus on distance education and what it means for the regents, she said. Bankirer said it is possible through distance learning for a person to get a degree without ever setting foot on campus, although she said it is rare that they would do so without coming to campus for some class. Faculty design distance education courses using a variety of tools. For example, Biology 103 uses audio lectures on computers through real audio concurrently with slides stored in a file on the Web, Bankirer said.
Students also do assignments and have discussions through the Web.
She said the distance education classes are more flexible, which appeals to a lot of working adults. Iowa Communications Network connects over 400 classrooms around the state, including five at ISU, Bankirer said. She said Iowa is one of the only states with such an extensive communications network. Students can work on their masters in family and consumer sciences in Council Bluffs or Davenport if they want. Agricultural and business degrees, a program called Master of School Mathematics and Web-based courses in biology and agronomy are all part of the distance learning program, she said.