Cold Rexburg winters are just one of the prices students pay for a BYU-Idaho education. But what if you could get the same quality education, say, in the Bahamas or in Beijing? Soon, all you may need is a computer and Internet access to get a bachelor’s degree from BYU-I.

Scott Bergstrom, BYU-I director of institutional research, said the university hopes to offer its first online bachelor’s degree by Fall 2007.

The bachelor’s degree in university studies will be the first of its kind at BYU-I. Bergstrom said students in the program could complete all of their coursework online and never have to set foot on campus.

In his inaugural address last fall, President Kim B. Clark listed three imperatives for BYU-I. They are to raise the quality of the BYU-I experience, to make a BYU-I education available to more people and to lower the relative cost of education at BYU-I. Bergstrom believes online classes address all three of President Clark’s goals.

The new degree will not only allow students outside of Rexburg the opportunity to further their education, Bergstrom sees online courses supplementing classroom learning as well.

“We want to use online learning where it helps,” Bergstrom said, “not replaces.”

Humanities professor Rick Davis is in charge of the Department of Humanities’ online courses. He said his department currently has three classes offered online and he has around 300 students enrolled in his online courses.

“I predict in 15 years the whole world of education will not be the same,” Davis said.

Davis envisions a time when students attending BYU-I could supplement their education by taking online classes from universities across the country.

“Online classes are the school of tomorrow,” Davis said.

One of the benefits of online learning is flexibility. “Online classes can accommodate any schedule,” said Tim Doolittle, a senior from Morgan Hill, Calif. “It takes discipline. It’s not for everybody.”

Davis does admit there are some limitations to online learning. He believes courses that require more hands-on experience, like an upper-division physics class, might not work as well online.

“A classroom is always better,” Davis said. “But what if you can’t get there?”

Such is the case for Jake Harlan, a senior from Poulsbo, Wash. Harlan is planning to walk in the April graduation ceremonies, but he is one religion class short of actually graduating. So while Harlan is interning, he will also be taking a BYU-I religion class online.