Speaking Friday at the first meeting of the SREB’s Distance Learning Policy Laboratory Leadership Group, Underwood said the "electronic rate would be used in lieu of in-state and out-of-state rates. The electronic rates are expected to be lower than the current out-of-state rates that limit student participation in distance learning."

"We have addressed this problem in West Virginia by permitting institutions the flexibility to offer courses at ‘market’ rates and we are actively promoting SREB’s single electronic rate for tuition. I will encourage my fellow governors to adopt a model of reciprocity and sharing," said Underwood, who is chairman of the Southern Regional Education Board.

SREB President Mark Musick said that a uniform tuition rate for electronically delivered courses would be in keeping with the goals of the SREB to expand student access and to provide greater learning opportunities across the region.

"The Distance Learning Policy Laboratory was created for the purpose of dealing with issues, such as out-of-state tuition costs, that are hindering the growth of distance learning. Costly out-of-state tuition simply slams the door on thousands of people who would benefit from distance learning courses," he said.

"Our plan is to come up with recommendations for electronic-rate tuition policies and share them with legislators across the 16-state SREB region"

Musick said the electronic tuition rate would be:

• a simple, single charge for all students;
• based on a reciprocal agreement among all SREB states; and
• built on the success of the SREB’s Academic Common Market program.

Musick said that, in addition to West Virginia, other SREB states — Delaware, Kentucky and Louisiana — are moving in the direction of an electronic rate. In Virginia, Old Dominion University is taking similar steps.

Electronic Campus Director Bruce Chaloux said an electronic rate can result in significant savings for students who take courses offered by colleges and universities in other states.

"On average, out-of-state tuition is more than 2 1/2 times higher than in-state rates for courses in the [Electronic] Campus. It is easy to see why many students view this as a real barrier. As an example, rates for a three-hour graduate course average $408 for in-state students but a whopping $1,048 for out-of-state students," he said.

The future of higher education could depend on innovative strategies such as distance learning, suggested former West Virginia Gov. Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board in New York. "Distance learning is the only way we can meet the increasing demands being placed on higher education in America."

The Distance Learning Policy Laboratory will work in conjunction with the SREB’s Electronic Campus, which has become the nation’s most successful marketplace of distance learning in the last two years. More than 3,000 courses and 100 degree programs are being offered by more than 250 colleges and universities on the Electronic Campus, www.electroniccampus.org.

The policy laboratory will address other potential barriers to distance learning, including access and quality. Dr. Roy McTarnaghan, recently retired president of Florida Gulf Coast University, is director of the Distance Learning Policy Laboratory.

In addition to Underwood and Caperton, the members of the Distance Learning Policy Laboratory Leadership Group are:

• Dominique Abrioux, president of Athabasca University in Canada;
• Wayne Anderson, president of the Associated Colleges of the South;
• Rayburn Barton, commissioner of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education;
• Betty Castor, president of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in Michigan;
• Virginia state Sen. John Chichester;
• Gordon Davies, president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education;
• Lawrence Davis, chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff;
• Sally Johnstone, senior program director, Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WICHE) in Colorado;
• Maryland state Delegate Nancy Kopp;
• Gary Miller, executive director of the Pennsylvania State University World Campus;
• James Mingle, executive director of the State Higher Education Executive Officers in Colorado;
• Diana Natalicio, president of the University of Texas at El Paso;
• Diana Oblinger, vice president and CIO for information resources at the University of North Carolina;
• Richard Skinner, president and CEO of Georgia GLOBE, University System of Georgia; and
• Carol Spencer, president of Cedar Valley College in Texas.