Electronic Campus Initiatives

Southern Regional Electronic Campus Created by Southern Regional Education Board Provides 16-State Electronic Marketplace for Students

Southern Regional Electronic Campus Provides 16-State Course marketplace

The new Southern Regional Electronic Campus (SREC) enables students across the South to take courses at scores of colleges and universities without leaving their hometowns, and students will be able to shop for courses in this electronic marketplace knowing that each college and university has pledged to provide quality courses.

The Southern Regional Electronic Campus – characterized as interstate educational cooperation at its best – will begin by making available courses offered by more than 50 colleges and universities in the 16 Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states. More than 100 courses will be available in the implementation phase beginning January 1998 and the number of colleges and courses may increase dramatically in the fall of 1998

Students will enter the electronic marketplace of courses at the SREB website, www.srec.sreb.org. There students can get information about courses, and they will be assured that colleges and universities have pledged to meet the Principle of Good Practice. Students will be able to link electronically with the college or university offering the course .

"The Southern Regional Education Board was founded 50 years ago with the purpose of improving education through interstate cooperation. SREB founders knew that education is the key to social and economic improvement in the South. The Electronic Campus moves the South ahead educationally and economically," said Kentucky Governor Paul Patton, chairman of SREB. "The founders would be exceedingly proud of the Electronic Campus, which is truly interstate education cooperation at its best."

Mark Musick, president of SREB, added: "The involvement of scores, and perhaps hundreds of colleges and universities offering hundreds and hundreds of courses through the Southern Regional Electronic Campus opens a new era. The barriers of geography and time that have limited higher education for many are being pushed aside. The Southern Regional Education Board is proud to work with education and government leaders to create the Southern Regional Electronic Campus."

How Will the Electronic Campus Operate?

In the implementation phase beginning January 1998 more than 50 colleges and universities will make available more than 100 courses via the Electronic Campus. Students will enter the Electronic Campus via the Internet at www.srec.sreb.org.

They will find the courses available, how courses are delivered (Internet, television or video tapes), and how much the courses cost.

Students can connect directly to the college or university that has the course they are interested in via an "electronic hot link" that requires only a click of mouse or keystroke. Once the students are linked to the college they can get detailed information about courses, registration and support services. In most cases, they will be able to register for courses via the Internet.

The Southern Regional Electronic Campus has compelling benefits for students, colleges and universities and the SREB states. These include:

Benefits for Students:

	The Electronic Campus increases students’ options dramatically. Courses not previously available where a student lives or at a time that was convenient may in fact now be available. Students in the most remote areas will have access to courses and programs that have not been readily available.
	Students will have the confidence of knowing that the courses offered via the Electronic Campus are pledged to follow the Principles of Good Practice.
	Students will be able to compare courses, methods of instruction, how courses are delivered and costs.
	The Electronic Campus will provide a central point of information and an "orderly electronic marketplace amidst the chaos of a booming Internet."

Benefits for Colleges and Universities:

	The Electronic Campus will make it possible for states to streamline interstate sharing and overcome traditional barriers that have made it difficult for colleges and universities to offer courses across state boundaries.
	The Electronic Campus will offer the potential of avoiding expensive new program development and operational costs for colleges and universities by helping them see and share what is available.
	The pool of students that may enroll is dramatically increased without having to add a single dormitory room.
	Colleges and universities will be able to form new networks and work together more easily across state lines to jointly develop programs that improve choices and quality for students.

Benefits for States:

	The Electronic Campus will provide the opportunity for more education for more citizens. The Electronic campus will increase access for students to needed information on educational courses and programs.
	The Electronic Campus could allow states, through cooperative development, to jointly share in creating needed courses and programs - the "electronic wheel" will not have to be reinvented each time.
	Areas previously isolated from the best of educational opportunities will no longer be cut off because of geography.
	Quality educational programs available in any SREB state can be just as accessible to the students in all SREB states.
	The Electronic Campus will provide increased economic development opportunities for all SREB states. Southern Regional Education Board states involved are: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

Access to Electronic Campus

Students and other interested in more information can reach the Electronic Campus at www.srec.sreb.org.

Q. What is the Southern Regional Electronic Campus?

A. The new Southern Regional Electronic Campus enables students across the South to take courses electronically at scores of colleges and universities without leaving their hometowns. Students will be able to shop for courses in this electronic marketplace knowing that each college and university has pledged to follow the Principles of Good Practice, a set of quality standards, developed by the Educational Technology Cooperative of the Southern Regional Education Board.

Q. How does a student use the Electronic Campus?

A. Students will enter the Electronic Campus at the SREB website, www.srec.sreb.org. Students can search for courses by subject, level, institution and state. Students will move via a "hot link" from the Electronic Campus to the college or university offering the courses.

Q. How are courses selected to be included on the Electronic Campus?

A. Courses listed on the Electronic Campus are reviewed against the Principles of Good Practice. A limited number of courses is included for the implementation phase beginning January 1998.

Q. Which states are participating in the Southern Regional Electronic Campus?

A. Participating SREB member states are: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

Q. Will credits earned via the Electronic Campus transfer?

A. Credits are awarded by colleges and universities that are pledged to the Principles of Good Practice. Just as with any college course, however, students will need approval of the college where they might transfer.

Q. How will tuition and fees for courses on the Electronic Campus be determined?

A. Each offering college or university sets tuition and fees. Costs for courses are available on the website.

Q. What technology does a student need to take a course or program on the Electronic Campus?

A. This will depend on the individual course. Most are delivered over the Internet.

Q. What kinds of courses are available through the Electronic Campus?

A. Undergraduate and graduate courses will be offered. They range from Elementary Latin to Biomechanics, to Introduction to Geometry.

Q. Where did the Electronic Campus idea originate?

A. The SREB Educational Technology Cooperative began work on the fundamental concepts almost two years ago. By drawing on the successful SREB Academic Common Market, a reciprocal arrangement that enables states to share academic programs, the Electronic Campus began with the arm of helping states share academic courses and programs that are delivered electronically. The structure of the Electronic Campus is unique.