E-news

T+D, Sept, 2003

Online learning is coming to the royals. The Saudi royals, that is. George Washington University in Washington. D.C., is creating customized e-learning courses for college-aged members of the Saudi royal family who don't want to travel to the United States amid terrorism fears. An administrator in Riyadh will supervise the program, and some classes may also be taught by faculty who travel to Saudi Arabia.

The program is somewhat controversial because of its specialized nature and its audience, a regime that some have linked to Islamic fundamentalists. GWU's student government president, Kris Hart, says he was at first "offended and surprised" when he heard of the program, but has come to accept it. He described the general student reaction as, "If they pay, they can have the same educational opportunities as the rest of us."

* Source/the Washington Post