ARCHIVED  October 1, 1995

‘Virtual U’ lures long-distance learners

Ann Zollman attended the best universities in the United States and graduated with an advanced degree – all without leaving her home.

“I received my degree from National Technological University by watching video-tapes at home after work,” Zollman said.

Headquartered in Fort Collins, National Technological University is a private, nonprofit institution that serves the advanced educational needs of engineers, scientists and technical managers locally, nationally and internationally. NTU expects to become one of the nation’s top producers of master of science degrees in engineering and computer science within the next 10 years.

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With a staff of 50, NTU is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. NTU awarded 189 master of science degrees in 1993-94, an increase of 55 over the previous year. Alumni number 625, with another 1,764 students enrolled in NTU’s 12 M.S. programs.

NTU president Lionel Baldwin started the university as a result of insights he acquired during his 20 years, from 1964 to 1984, serving as dean of the College of Engineering at Colorado State University. He saw a need for a university that would offer courses taught by the best minds across the country.

His idea was to start a school that would present up-to-date information in constantly changing fields by focusing on the needs of working professionals. Finally, the courses offered would be convenient to students’ schedules.

Tom Holmquist, an employee at Hewlett-Packard Co. in Greeley, recently graduated from NTU with an M.S. in computer science. He said NTU offers a breadth of courses from which to choose.

NTU’s courses originate on the campuses of NTU member universities and are broadcast directly to university, corporate and government sites by satellite on multiple compressed digital video channels 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Forty-five universities across the nation participate in NTU programs, including Colorado State University, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Columbia University, Purdue University, the University of Southern California and Cornell University.

“What makes NTU great is that a person can grab a specific class from a university renowned for its expertise in a particular field and take that class, all without having to go anywhere,” Holmquist said. “It’s the best of both worlds: I have my pick of the best classes from the best universities, and the convenience is unbeatable.”

More than 160 companies and organizations receive NTU programs at one or more sites, making a total of more than 720 sites. A sampling of the many organizations participating includes AT&T, ALCOA, Eastman Kodak Co., General Electric Co., Hewlett-Packard, IBM Corp., Motorola Inc., Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force.

Zollman, a graduate from NTU with an M.S. in engineering management, comments: “I like NTU because they offer exposure to a lot of different ideas. For example, sometimes a person can get in a company mindset on how to get things done. NTU enables you to get a varied perspective on how other companies solve the same problems.”

Each organization assigns a qualified individual to serve as the site education coordinator at each location sponsoring NTU programs. Each site also provides the equipment to receive and view the satellite signals, communication links for student/faculty interaction, computing facilities, classrooms and instructional support.

One of the many professors participating in NTU’s vision is Robert Hiller, professor of environmental law at CSU. On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons of each school week, his class is sent out live on NTU’s satellite network to universities and corporations nationwide.

“NTU has advantages over a traditional university in a couple of ways,” Hiller said. “First, the degree programs are highly specialized. This means that a student can get a degree from NTU in a specialized field such as hazardous-waste management that would be hard for him or her to find elsewhere.

“Also, NTU can respond quickly to students’ needs. Students can work for a big company and transfer to another branch somewhere else in the country without losing credits.”

Electronic mail, fax, telephone, U.S. mail and computer conferencing are the means of communication between instructors and students. If a student fails to register for a course at the time it is offered, he or she can view the course on videotape.

“NTU’s vision for the future consists of sharing premier educational materials globally,” Baldwin said. “A lot of talent doesn’t reside in the United States, and we’d like to bring that knowledge to our students in the U.S. Likewise, the United States has a lot of talent that we’d like to share with people around the world.

“Businesses today are involved in a global economy,” he added. “Many corporations in the U.S. make half of their profits from overseas markets. We’re looking for global business alliances to bring resources to students in need. We’d like to lead the way in making these meaningful relations work.”

Ann Zollman attended the best universities in the United States and graduated with an advanced degree – all without leaving her home.

“I received my degree from National Technological University by watching video-tapes at home after work,” Zollman said.

Headquartered in Fort Collins, National Technological University is a private, nonprofit institution that serves the advanced educational needs of engineers, scientists and technical managers locally, nationally and internationally. NTU expects to become one of the nation’s top producers of master of science degrees in engineering and computer science within the next 10 years.

With a staff of 50, NTU is accredited by the Commission…

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