A couple articles of interest ...

This from the BBC, 20 January 2004 ... IRAQI ACADEMICS STAY CONNECTED WITH TECHNOLOGYAfter years of suppression under Saddam Hussein's regime, some Iraqi academics are using the Internet to reconnect with colleagues now scattered around the world and to rebuild the country's largely crippled education system. Iraqi scientist Abduljabbar al-Wahedi has set up a Web site where academics can connect with each other and with universities and students in Iraq. According to al-Wahedi, members of the Web group who left the country are encouraged at least to travel back to Iraq and lecture at the universities, and some have decided to move back to Iraq permanently. Some universities in the country still lack e-mail access, but al-Wahedi said his group hopes to connect all of Iraq's universities by the end of the year.With Iraq's infrastructure being rebuilt, some young Iraqis who can't get the funding to come to the U.S. to study may want to try studying at a virtual university. There are a number of online international programs out there. Here are a couple ...

Jones International University- MABC

Jones International University General

University of Phoenix International ProgramsAnd the Chronicle of Higher Education, 20 January 2004 (sub. req'd) ... WIRELESS HIGH-SPEED ACCESS FOR DETROIT'S POOR RESIDENTSThe University of Michigan at Ann Arbor is working on a project to bring wireless high-speed Internet access to residents of poor areas in Detroit. Commercial ISPs often bypass less affluent urban areas due to an expected lack of return on the investment required to establish necessary infrastructure. Working with nonprofits and religious institutions in the area, the Center for Urban Innovation at the university's School of Social Work hopes to bring wireless access to Detroit's poor communities for as little as $100 per year, per customer. In addition to high-speed access, residents of affected areas will also be able to take computer-training courses. The project involves setting up several large antennas as well as smaller repeaters to cover currently unserved areas. According to Larry M. Gant, director of the project, wireless was chosen because of its relatively low cost. Gant also defended the technology as being fairly simple to secure, as long as people take the time to lock down their systems.

With this service to Detroit's poor, it only makes sense that they should be given better access to the education possibilities which will help lift them out of poverty. Why not online technology hubs, or virtual universities in the inner cities? Other than grants and Student Loans, these students are often stuck in the inner cities due to poor elementary education, societal ills, and cultural restrictions. What better way is there to get around prejudice, discrimination and biased perceptions which often surround the poor than through a virtual online university?

There is an old (a few years at least) saying that ' No one knows you are a dog on the Internet'

Nor do they know if you are poor, a minority, or physically disadvantaged.

Here are a few major online universities from where to start a search for online education whether you live in the pits or on top of a mountain.

Adult Education Theme SiteAspen UniversityCapella UniversityEllis CollegeDeVry University

Keiser College eCampusKennedy-WesternNorwichRegis UniversityJacksonville UniversityUniversity of LiverpoolWestwood College Online