Virtual You

Virtual universities have become increasingly popular with business owners who want more education, but who need a flexible study schedule. A look at these "distance learning" programs.

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HandsOn: Chief Exec

Time-strapped entrepreneurs are going to class on-line

When Jerry Mosier graduated from high school, in 1975, he didn't have much desire to attend college. But over time, he developed the gnawing sense that he'd missed out on something big. "You reach a point where you just need to get your degree," he says.

That feeling hasn't subsided. Today, Mosier is living near Winter Park, Colo., and running Premier Services, his two-person company, which sells and repairs appliances. But Winter Park is miles from the nearest university, and--given the demands of operating a company--Mosier doesn't have time to travel to school every day. So he doesn't. Instead, school travels to him--over a wire.

Mosier is working toward his bachelor of science in business through the "distance education" program of Regis University, in Denver. He receives his professors' lectures on videotape. Then, using a Pentium personal computer with a 33.3-baud modem, Mosier downloads his assignments through the school's Web sites, corresponds by E-mail with professors and other students, and participates in "class discussions" on electronic bulletin boards. "I'm doing it in large part for my own satisfaction," he says, "but I'm also putting all my knowledge to work at my company." He should complete his degree in May--and plans to go on for an M.B.A.

For years large companies have poured millions into employee education and in-house "corporate universities." But small companies--and particularly, small-company executives--have been at a disadvantage. Tied to their businesses, entrepreneurs often fail to brush up on core skills or to acquire new ones. The proliferation of "distance-learning" programs is solving the problem for many company owners like Mosier.

Of course, long-distance learning isn't new; it's just gone high-tech. Originally, correspondence courses were the popular off-campus learning model, and many company owners still benefit from such programs. A well-known example: Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, of Ben & Jerry's fame, learned how to make ice cream through a Penn State University correspondence course that cost $5 back in 1977. "We actually split the course," Greenfield recalls. "We were too broke to afford two of them." Together, the entrepreneurs received an A--an achievement Greenfield attributes to large print and the wonders of open-book tests.

While correspondence has become a bit of a dirty word in the education realm, distance learning with new technologies is gaining credibility. According to InterEd, a Phoenix-based company that researches educational quality, the percentage of regionally accredited universities that offer some technology-based distance education reached 55% in 1996, up from 30% in 1994. "The technology infrastructure is finally reaching a point where it is reasonable for a great number of people to learn wherever they can bring their computer," says Judith V. Boettcher, executive director of the Corporation for Research and Educational Networking.

But it takes more than a modem to make distance learning work. "You really must be self-motivated and dedicated," says Terry Jenkins, business consultant and owner of Problem Solver Consulting, in Atco, N.J. "You have to really want to be in a program, or you just couldn't get through it." Jenkins is working toward a master's in business communication through a distance-learning program from the International University, in Englewood, Colo. Like Mosier, Jenkins receives his course material on videotape and interacts with classmates and professors using his Pentium computer, with a 28.8-baud modem. He doesn't spend much time lugging books home from the library, because most of the research materials he needs are housed within the university's "virtual library." "As long as I have access to a computer and the Internet, I can complete my assignments anywhere," he says.

But if you're searching for an easy way to get a few letters behind your name, Jenkins says, this isn't it. On average, he spends about 25 hours a week working on school material. Add that to the demands of running a company, and you've got one grueling schedule. On the other hand, Jenkins says, it's easier for him to manage that schedule because he can study when and where he wants. "If I have a big meeting, I go to it, and I don't have to feel guilty that I missed class," he says. "I just do the work that night."

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