Education specialists describe the current mad dash by colleges and universities to establish courses on the Internet as one of the hottest developments they have ever seen. Schools are offering whole degrees and programs on line, staking out their territories before others do.

Internet bulletin boards function as virtual classrooms with instructors posting lectures and assignments, and students turning in papers and tests, and discussing their studies with classmates and professors in on-line conferences.

It costs $50,000 or more to create and support each class on line -- an expense schools at this point are not sure can be justified. No one knows exactly how many colleges and universities operate on the Internet, but among the institutions that have taken the plunge:

• The University of Phoenix, a for-profit institution, has nearly 5,000 students in its on-line program -- double the number two years ago.

• The Western Governors University, an on-line college sponsored by 17 states and Guam, begun this fall, offers associate's degrees in liberal arts and applied science.

• The California Virtual University, sponsored by nearly 100 California colleges and universities, opened this fall with more than 1,600 on-line courses.

A committee of the American Association of University Professors concluded last year that on-line learning could be "a valuable pedagogical tool to increase access to higher education" -- but warned that developments could compromise traditional notions of academic quality, academic freedom, intellectual property rights and instructors' workloads and compensation.

Source: Karen W. Arenson, "More Colleges Plunging Into Uncharted Waters of On-Line Courses," New York Times, November 2, 1998.