Professionals and lifetime learners from all over the world can now access ISU classes at Fathom.com, a new educational Internet company. Iowa State was one of seven institutions nationwide invited to join the Fathom site. “[Our main goal] as a land [grant] institution is to provide higher education to the masses, and Fathom.com is just another source,” said Ann Hill Duin, director and associate provost of the ISU Extended and Continuing Education. Iowa State was chosen to participate because it is classified as a Researchers 1 University and offers a wide variety of courses, said Catherine Adams, marketing manager for the ISU Extended and Continuing Education. Adams said people can access the site for free and perform searches on topics such as agronomy in addition to searching for articles, journals, research and universities that offer online courses about the topic. Duin said the Web site is another way Iowa State can promote the university without any additional cost. “[Fathom.com] helps the university with its brick-and-click strategy,” Duin said. “We provide buildings for learning [at Iowa State] and now we need a place to click and learn [on the Internet].” Duin said the Fathom site is not as applicable for current students to access for information, but is intended more for people who are lifelong learners and want to continue their education. The Extended and Continuing Education office will oversee the accredited courses on the Web site, which will be facilitated by ISU instructors. Adams said details about programs that will be offered on the Web site are still being worked out. She said the course work on Fathom.com will be administered in the same way as a current online course offered by Iowa State. Duin said the university is excited about the potential opportunities with the Fathom.com site since it is involved with only high-end institutions. She also said that Fathom is an experiment for Iowa State and will be evaluated after three months to six months. Iowa State hopes to have programs offered through the Fathom.com site by January 1, 2001.