About five years ago, Tracy Smith left the big city to take an accounting job with Homer Electric in Homer, Alaska. Her biggest qualm about moving to Homer (population 5000) was giving up the chance to continue her education, "but it was a great job offer and I just couldn't turn it down."

Off and on, Tracy thought about advancing her education. But, the nearest program was in Anchorage.
  "Realistically," she says, "It was either give up the idea of an advanced degree or give up the job. Or so I thought. Then, my father called me one morning from Colorado, where I'm from originally, and told me about this distance-based M.B.A. worked out between Colorado State University and Mind Extension University."


MEU cable was not available in Homer back then (but is now!) so Tracy Smith took two courses per semester by videotape. She graduated in two years, which, she admits, "was pushing it." Most students take two and one half years or more.


The university agreed on a proctor to give her exams. Papers were submitted by mail or by fax to the on-campus instructor. Conferences were held by telephone.


"Actually," Smith says, "I talked to the professor far more often in this supposed 'distance' program than I ever did in campus-based classes."

Smith most appreciated that the Colorado State distance-M.B.A. through ME/U was virtually identical to the on-campus program. "I 'attended' the on-campus classes by satellite;" she says, "I wrote the same papers and sat for the same exams. I know I can feel good about my degree and be proud of my accomplishment." So proud, in fact, that Smith flew out to Colorado and attended 1992 graduation ceremonies at Colorado State University.

Would she do it again?

"Within a second!" she says without hesitation. "It changed my life. I learned an incredible amount. I gained confidence in myself and my abilities; and, I've been promoted in recognition of that."

Would she recommend it to others? "Totally. Oh, absolutely!"

Well, Smith has one reservation: "You need self-discipline. You have to want this enough to come home from a full day of work and say: 'Alright! Now I get to go to school!' because those tapes are willing to sit in a corner for as long as you are willing."

Busy students are trading-in the commuter college for the computer college. A complete "on-line college" is only as far as the nearest computer, modem, and phone line. Classes run 24 hours a day and begin when you log on.

University of Phoenix, San Francisco CA at (800) 388-5463, offers the B.S. in Business Administration and the B.A. in Management "degree completion programs" -- meaning applicants must transfer credits and significant work experience into the program. U.O.P also offers an on-line general M.B.A. and a specialized M.B.A. in Technology Management.

City University, Renton, Washington at (800) 426-5596 is a pioneer in alternative education and offers Associate, Bachelor, and Master degrees primarily by independent study. The M.B.A. is available on-line and City University is diligently working to bring all other programs on-line.

Susan Lerner is an elementary school teacher at the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation in Northern California. Lerner turned to Humboldt State University when it was time to think about a Master's degree, but the school didn't offer what she really wanted: a graduate degree in educational technology. After some negotiation, H.S.U. agreed to let her formulate a special program combining their offerings with individualized study.

"It meant going over a mountain pass in the middle of winter and it still wasn't really what I wanted," Lerner says, "but I was willing. When you live 10 miles outside of Willow Creek, there's nowhere else to go."

With that in mind, Susan Lerner requested and got a one year leave of absence from her school district to pursue a Master's degree. Trouble was: Lerner's degree proposal fell victim to an H.S.U. budget-cutting ax. She now had a year educational leave but no way to use it.

Luckily, Lerner's satellite dish caught a glimpse of Mind Extension University. After a few inquiries at ME/U, she found that The George Washington University (in affiliation with ME/U) was starting up a Master of Arts in Education and Human Development with a specialty in Educational Technology Leadership!

"It was exactly what I wanted," she says, "and The George Washington University has an excellent reputation. What more could you ask?"

Classes came by satellite television, but Lerner submitted assignments by computer and interacted with students and instructors on an electronic bulletin board.

"Some classes were prerecorded," says Lerner, "but many were broadcast live and you could call in with questions and comments just as if you were right there in the classroom."

As the Educational Technology Leadership program grew from a handful of students to thirty, then doubled and redoubled, Lerner and few other graduates were hired as part-time adjunct faculty to help manage the increasing volume of assignments, questions, and electronic mail.

Lerner says that even though her program was top quality and the right thing for her, distance education probably isn't for everyone. She has met distance students who crave and miss the socializing aspect of college, who need the daily face-to-face contact, who need hand-holding and the prod of attendance-taking.

"You really have to be independent and self-motivated," Lerner says. "I suggest to some students that they work out a buddy system with someone to help keep them on track."

If time or distance has been keeping you from considering a graduate school, think about Tracy Smith and Susan Lerner. Their stories clearly demonstrate that you can pursue a graduate school education even if you can't leave your own back porch. These days, you can truly go back to school from home.