Internet university
KeywordsCybernetics, Education, Internet, Universities, VR
Abstract Comments on the Internet, giving details of new facilities and provisions that are of specific interest to systemists and cyberneticians. They include: Virtual university, Internet university.
Internet university
The term "Internet university" has been applied to an entirely different setup, having one important characteristic of a conventional university in that it actually awards a qualification to students. Details can be found at the site http://members.aol.com/inetu/index.htm.
Viewers of this site are asked whether they are interested in advancing their education over the Internet, or are interested in teaching over the same medium. In either case they are invited to seek further information from the president of the Internet university, John Bregenzer PhD, at the e-mail address inetu@aol.com
The university is not accredited as such, and does not award degrees, but offers a diploma. According to the description at the website, it has refused to accept accreditation, maintaining that "quality accredits itself". Its geographical location is Dayton, Ohio and it is legally incorporated by the State of Ohio as The Internet University Inc.
There is no specific educational requirement for admission to the university. An application fee of just under 40 dollars is mentioned, with the same amount payable on award of the diploma. To qualify for the latter the student works with an advisor, to whom he or she pays a monthly tuition fee, for which the same sum of just under 40 dollars is suggested, though this is open to negotiation. The outcome of the study is a dissertation that is submitted and judged for the award of the diploma. Students may recruit advisors of their choice to the university.
The list of subjects currently offered is as follows: American Indian studies, anthropology, art,communications, futures research, general studies, poetry, systems analysis,technology, urban planning.
A list of eight faculty members is shown, including the already-mentioned president, whose speciality is anthropology, and one emeritus. The specialist in systems analysis and cybernetics is Kevin B. Kreitman.
Northwest passage
A link from the Internet university site has the intriguing label of Northwest passage. It leads first to a rather enigmatic picture showing sea creatures, probably dolphins, and what seems to be a dome-shaped edifice, and from an acknowledgement it is apparent that it would be accompanied by appropriate music if accessed using a multi-media computer. The presentation is the result of a project by students of the Internet university, in association with a Solar System Simulation project of Northern Arizona University. Details of the latter can be found at http://www.nau.edu/~anthro/solsys/
The underlying idea becomes clear when a further link, labelled "history" is followed. It leads to a lengthy text amounting to an imaginative and thought-provoking piece of science fiction,purporting to be the history of a northwest passage project over the period from 2005 to 2055. The main idea is that the need for an economical transport route between Japan and Scandinavia (to carry cars in one direction and oil in the other) led to the opening of a submarine route under the ice of the northwest passage, and the building of an underwater staging post. The underwater construction was later used as a biosphere to study living conditions of space travellers, and as a marine research laboratory, particularly when the demand for freight transport slackened because of the exhaustion of North Sea oil. It is assumed that ample geothermal power was tapped beneath the structure, such that it could export certain items, and that it also benefited from tourism.
It is impossible to give the full flavour of the story in a short space, but it is undoubtedly intriguing and well worth reading. The "history" text can be accessed directly at http://members.aol.com/inetu/nwp/nwphist.txt
Alex M. Andrewe-mail: AlexAndrew@compuserve.com
