Homework Takes on New Meaning in Age of Instructional TV : Education: ITV program, marking its 25th anniversary, helps students earn college credits with videotaped classes.

Hoping to learn more about her home computer and earn college credit at the same time, Joyce Frank curled up in front of the television set in her Sun Valley home.

A working mother of two, Frank enrolled in her first college course five years ago. But unlike most students, she didn’t have to schedule her life around the college classroom. She simply hit the “play” button on her videocassette recorder.

Frank is one of thousands of students who have enrolled in Instructional Television courses offered by the Los Angeles Community College District since the program was founded 25 years ago.

Students like Frank choose the program for its convenience. “This way, I can set my own hours,” said Frank, 51, who works for a company that obtains film permits for entertainment businesses. “When you come home, it’s nice to know you don’t have to go right to class. You can sit down at your leisure and watch the program.”

Since the program was founded in 1965, ITV has offered college-level courses to students who, for a variety of reasons, cannot or will not attend traditional classes. For pregnant women, working people, high school students, senior citizens and even agoraphobics who are fearful of public places, ITV makes it easier to earn college credits.

Susan Harris of Los Angeles, a former acting coach, decided to enroll in an ITV psychology class this fall after watching it for fun during the summer. Harris, who recently went through a 20-month period of agoraphobia and suffers from spinal arthritis, said the class will be more convenient for her than attending traditional classes. It will also ease her into the traditional school routine.

“I’m a little nervous, because I’m rusty. But this is a whole new experience, and I’m looking forward to it,” said Harris, 37, who wants to earn a master’s degree so she can become a therapist. “I don’t think I would have had the courage to see what was offered at college had I not watched the ITV program. I would have been much more intimidated.”

This semester--or tele-semester as the ITV people call it--students can choose from classes in American history, business and the law, personal finance, humanities through the arts or psychology. Students get the bulk of their instruction from watching 26 to 30 half-hour programs that are broadcast on KCET-TV (Channel 28). Four classroom meetings are scheduled on weekends during the semester in addition to a mandatory midterm and final exam.

“We try to make it as accessible as possible so students who are non-traditional can still take classes,” said Ethel McClatchey, director of the ITV program. “It gives students convenience and flexibility.”

Community colleges throughout the state are experiencing a greater demand for classes, especially from older students who want to brush up on their skills or change careers, said Ann Reed, vice chancellor for public affairs for the California Community Colleges. With a hectic schedule, it is sometimes difficult for older students to attend traditional classes.

“It’s important for them to be able to take the class when they have time. It may be the only way, or the best way, to offer the classes,” Reed said. “You’re going to be seeing more of this. It’s the wave of the future.”

But be warned: Getting a good grade in an ITV class is not as easy as turning on the television. To be successful, the student must watch the weekly televised classes, complete the homework and pass the tests.

McClatchey believes that most students who enroll are willing to make a commitment to complete the class.

“In a way, they work much harder than students on campus, because they have to be more self-disciplined,” she said.

There are some problems with the ITV program.

Ed Burruss, who has taught a ITV personal finance class for the past two years, said that, without the weekly personal contact, students who are struggling in ITV courses have a greater chance of going unnoticed.

He said it is easier for him to spot fledgling students in the night classes he teaches at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College than in his ITV classes. “If they’re having difficulties in a traditional classroom, you can pick up on it. With ITV, it’s easy for some students to slide into problems. But for people who can’t go to regular classes and who are disciplined, it’s great.”

He added that students in his ITV class and Trade-Tech class earn similar grades.

Frank, who took a personal finance class last fall with her husband, Robert, said they found that the program lacked excitement. More than once, she said, they fell asleep in front of the taped program and had to repeat it at another time.

While ITV has its limitations, it is effective for people who are nervous about returning to a classroom after a 15- or 20-year absence, Burruss said. Passing one ITV class may be all they need to give them the inspiration to return to the traditional classroom and eventually earn an associate of arts or sciences degree. All the classes apply toward associate degrees.

After receiving a C in the computer class, Frank, for example, earned A’s in an accounting class at night school and in Burruss’ ITV personal finance class.

Burruss pointed out that ITV courses have advantages over correspondence classes because students have some eye-to-eye contact with the instructor during the semester. He makes himself available by phone and keeps office hours twice a week for ITV students.

“You really have a problem with correspondence classes, because everything has to be in writing. I’m afraid a lot of people wouldn’t be disciplined enough for correspondence classes,” he said.

Harris was impressed with the course she watched, noting that the psychology class featured interviews with experts and even showed the reactions of schizophrenics with and without medication.

When ITV started in the fall of 1965, with a single course in cultural anthropology, tuition was free. Now classes cost $5 per unit, with most courses offering three units.

The program has evolved from low-budget, “talking head,” videotaped lectures to million-dollar courses produced by various educational groups and universities nationwide, including the Southern California Consortium, which is composed of area colleges. Each class uses specific textbooks and take three to five years to produce. The courses are updated every eight to 10 years. The college district leases the videotaped programs from the producing organizations.

The nonprofit consortium produces televised courses for 26 districts, which includes 43 colleges from Santa Maria to Chula Vista. Within the consortium, enrollment in ITV classes has increased from 20,132 students in the 1987-1988 academic year to 27,102 students in the 1989-1990 academic year.

The classes are broadcast in the early mornings, at lunchtime or around midnight and are often taped by students to be watched at more convenient times. A recent survey of ITV students in the Los Angeles Community College District showed that 85% have videocassette recorders. Students who miss a session, or whose videotaping equipment is broken, can borrow the tapes at Los Angeles Valley and Los Angeles City colleges.

In the Los Angeles Community College District, ITV classes average about 200 students per instructor. In the 1989-1990 academic year, 1,329 students enrolled in 13 district classes, with some of them taking multiple classes. District enrollment over the past two summers has increased 17%, from 388 applications in 1989 to 453 this past summer, officials said. Classes for next summer are in jeopardy of being canceled due to budget cuts, McClatchey said. All the classes offered are transferable to the California State University and University of California systems.

“We must maintain a college rigor,” McClatchey said. “Our college district is very fussy about the types of classes we can offer. They must be substantial.”

Yet, ITV remains perhaps the college district’s best-kept secret.

“We’ve had a hard time getting the word out. People just don’t understand,” McClatchey said. “But once the students find us, they keep coming.”

Registration for this fall’s semester must be postmarked no later than Sept. 28. Classes started earlier this month, but programs are available for loan at the Valley College and LACC libraries for students who enroll late.

The course fee in the Los Angeles Community College District is $5 per unit, with a maximum fee of $50 for 10 or more units. All ITV classes this semester are three-unit classes.

Applications or more information may be obtained by calling the ITV office, (818) 901-8935.