FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — On March 15 and 16, as thousands of UA students desert Fayetteville for their annual spring break, more than 90 UA undergraduates will be on campus for two days of class activities, presentations and course evaluation. For some it will be the first time they have walked the UA campus or met their college dean.

These undergraduates are enrolled in the Human Resource Development program delivered via distance education by the department of vocational and adult education in the College of Education and Health Professions. Interactive video links Fayetteville with two-year community and technical colleges around Arkansas to meet the need of working adults for a university education without leaving jobs or families.

Unlike on-line or web-based programs, in which participants may never meet face-to-face, faculty and students in the college’s programs interact in what resembles a traditional classroom-with the addition of huge television screens and microphones. Students in Fayetteville and at remote sites can see each other on screen throughout the class, know each other’s names and faces, and hold lively class discussions. Faculty and students use e-mail for questions between classes and meet in person at least once a semester.

The students will be welcomed by Reed Greenwood, dean of the college, and will tour campus and Razorback Stadium. Guest speaker for the weekend is Denise Reid Hoggard, who has more than 17 years experience litigating in the area of employment law. She will address the students on Saturday, March 16, from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in the Graduate Education Auditorium. An instructor with the Arkansas Criminal Justice Institute in the area of wage and hour law, she also teaches a course in legal aspects of human resources for Webster University.