Online colleges are the fastest-growing segment of higher education despite questions about their quality. More than 2.3 million people took at least one online college course in 2004, according to one study - a 47 percent jump from 2002. And now, thanks to an act of Congress last week, the door to an online college education is expected to open wider. Colleges no longer will be required to provide at least half their classes on a physical campus to qualify for federal student financial aid. While two-thirds of traditional colleges and universities now offer online courses, the policy change is expected to be especially helpful to those mostly for-profit schools that offer all of their instruction online.

Wayne State University's Law School's Ninth Annual Treasure of Detroit Gala will be held at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, April 1. During the event, five WSU law alumni will be honored. Biographies, photos and contact information is provided.

The Wayne Law Review, with support of the State Bar of Michigan and the Departments of Criminal Justice and Political Science at Wayne State University, hosted its Annual Legal Symposium March 24 on the topic of public corruption. The all-day event featured national legal experts.

The Wayne State University Law School's Free Legal Aid Clinic is hosting its Spring Reception and Fundraiser on Saturday, April 22, at 1686 Balmoral Drive, in Detroit. The event is designed to raise money to enhance their services and the learning experience for the student attorneys. Contact information is provided.

A brief notes that the exhibit, "Through the Lens of Dan Graschuck: 40 years of sports photography," is running through Aug. 1 at Wayne State University's Walter P. Reuther Library. Contact information is provided.

TechTown plans to seek close to $500 million in public and private support to completely redevelop its 12-block area in Detroit by 2020. Tech Town is collaborating on the project with the University of Michigan School of Architecture and Urban Planning, 75 architecture students from Cass Technical High School and the University City Science Center in Philadelphia, the oldest research and technology park in the country, said Howard Bell, executive director of TechTown. Final plans for the project are expected to be released in October.

Were they fakes or precious relics lost civilizations created? That was the big question a century ago when clay, slate, copper and stone objects decorated with strange hieroglyphics and references to the Bible were dug from Indian mounds all over the Lower Peninsula between 1890 and 1920. Experts, who came to inspect the \"finds,\" uniformly dismissed them as \"fakes,\" \"frauds\" and \"humbugs.\" But a core of believers, including men of the church and others, continued to defend them, some even to this day. The story behind the Michigan relics is told in a fascinating new exhibit at the Wayne State University Museum of Anthropology, one of the Detroit Cultural Center \'s little-known gems. The Michigan Historical Center in Lansing loaned the museum the material on view through the end of the year. Tom Killion, who heads WSU\'s anthropology department, points out that people of that era didn\'t have an understanding of Michigan \'s history and prehistory. \"They didn\'t realize that Biblical and ancient Egyptian relics would not be found in Michigan \'s Native American mounds,\" he says. \"It\'s easy to fill the void with all kinds of stuff.\"

Several dozen West Bloomfield High School students not only witnessed an open-heart operation at an Ohio hospital, they did it without leaving their school. They and students from four other high schools in Michigan and Ohio sat in on an open heart surgery Wednesday through an interactive videoconference. Psychologist John Porcerelli said he is not convinced that showing such graphic images to teenagers is wise. \"It is an exciting opportunity if they can deal with it, but there are some adults who can\'t even watch that,\" said Porcerelli, an associate professor at Wayne State University \'s medical school.

Wayne State senior defenseman Steve Kovalchik was named to the College Hockey America second team.

A man who never had a driver\'s license and was drunk when he crashed a truck head-on into a car was found guilty of second-degree murder Thursday. Gordon Todd Stewart, 40, faces a sentence of up to life in prison for the Sept. 16 death of Lara Rutan, 25, of Grosse Pointe, who was in a Volkswagen Jetta that was hit by the truck on Hayes Road , near Clinton River Road . Five memorial funds have been set up in Rutan\'s memory, including scholarship funds at her alma maters, Regina High School and Wayne State University , as well as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, St. Paul Education Trust and the Michigan Humane Society. Rutan, a graduate of WSU\'s physician assistant program, was working at Eastside Cardiovascular Medicine in Detroit .

Wayne State University participated in "College Day" on March 21 sponsored by the Clare-Gladwin Career Tech Center and Mid Michigan Community College. The free event, open to high school sophomores, juniors and seniors and their parents, as well as current college students considering a transfer, was an opportunity for area residents to learn more about various colleges, universities and military agencies.

Wayne State's Law School announced that Andrea D. Lyon, a nationally recognized expert on the death penalty, will deliver the 22nd Annual I. Goodman Cohen Lecture in Trial Advocacy on Thursday, March 30. Lyon's lecture, "The Death Penalty On Trial: The Politics of Capital Punishment," will begin at 3 p.m. in the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium.

Amherst , Mount Holyoke , Bucknell, Cornell, and the University of Southern California are turning their attentions to what may be an untapped reservoir of able, low-income students: the 6.5 million people who attend community colleges. Attached is a list of Michigan Public Universities ranked by 2004-2005 tuition and fees. Wayne State is ranked eighth as less expensive than UM-Ann Arbor and more expensive than Saginaw Valley.

Film critic Robert Delaney offers a lukewarm review of the Hilberry Theatre's "Antony & Cleopatra" saying the play was too long and that there were voice quality issues. Delaney adds, "It is a shame this production is not what it could have been." The Bonstelle Theatre's "Othello" however is given a 'thumbs-up' by Delaney. "The Bonstelle's 'Othello' is a more satisfying production than the Hilberry's current 'Antony & Cleopatra,'" Delaney says. Photos of cast members from both productions are included.

" Antony and Cleopatra," playing in repertory at WSU's Hilberry Theatre through May 4, is reviewed by John Monaghan. He calls it a "handsome production" overall but says veteran director Lavinia Hart "has spread her cast too thin." A photo of the lead actor and actress accompanies the story.

Joan Mahoney, a law school professor at Wayne State , was interviewed for a story on a case that could challenge Roe vs. Wade. A Saginaw man is involved in paternity case, in which he argues that his right to reject parenthood is being violated.

Susan Zwieg, director of undergraduate admissions for Wayne State University , was interviewed on Fox 2 regarding a national story on an error with SAT test results for 4,000 students who took the college entrance exam.

The Hillberry Theater production of Shakespeare's " Antony and Cleopatra" is played straight: no updates, no surprises, and for the most part, no problems.

An article about 20th anniversary activities for Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital mentions that it is one of nine hospitals and institutes operated by The Detroit Medical Center, "a leading regional health system affiliated with Wayne State University and its schools of medicine, nursing and allied health."

An item about the upcoming FIRST Robotics regional competition mentions that one of the sites will be Wayne State University , March 17-18.