Long & Short of It, The

ASEE Prism, Apr 2006 by Shute, Nancy

"I work at Qualcomm, doing DSP architecture," says Erich Plondke, who is working on a master's in electrical and computer engineering at Georgia Tech and is one of about 500 distance learning graduate students there. "The distance learning program allows me to travel for work and doesn't interrupt the workday with a trip to campus." In fact, Plondke, who got his undergraduate degree from the school in 2001, had applied for an on-campus grad program. Then Qualcomm transferred him to Austin, Texas. The move didn't disrupt his academic plans one bit. He receives videotapes of lectures in the mail twice a week. Homework is downloaded from a class Web page, then faxed to the university's distance learning center or e-mailed to the professor or TA. Tests arc mailed to a proctor, then mailed or faxed back. Although Plondke likes going back to Atlanta, it's to visit friends or take in a football game, not to schmooze with professors. Most of his fellow distance grad students have never set foot on campus. And they say that what they miss by not being there -networking opportunities, the chance to clarify a fuzzy point in a lecture on the spot-is more than compensated for by the convenience of being able to time-shift academic chores to fit into a demanding professional schedule.

"I needed to get the master's knocked out," says Georgia Tech student Chad Ryther, "but I'm with the Air Force, and I didn't have the opportunity to do it full time." So he went to the local library, got an old copy of U.S. News & World Report and went down the list of engineering schools. When he called Georgia Tech, he says, "the next thing I knew they were saying, 'Please hold for the dean.' He really knew what my needs were. That's the kind of customer service I'm looking for. They understand that people are trying to get something done."

Ryther, who does flight testing for the Air Force, is particularly pleased when lectures show up on a CD-ROM with Powerpoint slides and a small headshot of the professor talking. "You can sit at home with your computer, you can take it to work on your laptop or you can travel with it," he says. "If you don't hear what he said, you can rewind it." But getting access to professors, he says, is not so simple. It's not that the professors aren't available by phone or e-mail. "My current professor said to call him at home, up till midnight. That's dedication." Rather, it's just finding the time to call in a busy workday. "The quality of the teaching is extremely high," says Ryther, who graduated from the Air Force Academy. "These are some of the best professors I've ever had."

One downside, students say, is the lack of networking opportunities with other students, although they're also amazed at the friendships they've developed with classmates they've never seen, only communicated with via e-mail, teleconferences and chats. "Those are the people you're not afraid to call at 11 p.m. on a Friday night and say, 'What did you get for No.3?'" says Jennifer Schwerman, who is working on a master's in mechanical engineering. Schwerman says she misses the chance to ask a question immediately when there's a sticking point in the lecture. Still, she says, the flexibility has made it possible for her to complete her degree in six semesters while working on propulsion technologies for GE Research in New York. She advises students who are considering distance programs to check out the distance learning program office. "That's a big determining factor in how easy the process is going to be. They're the ones who help yon through, and they're the ones who determine how quickly you get the materials."