For the past 34 years, food industry employees across the United States and from distant regions of the globe have been mailing their assignments and completed exams to Cornell University's Food Industry Distance Education Program. But now they can conduct all their correspondence, including receiving exams and returning completed papers, via e-mail. In recent years, students have increasingly turned to fax machines for enrollments and course work, but now many will be choosing Internet e-mail, although Cornell will continue to offer traditional independent-study formats through regular mail, says John D. Pierce, assistant director of the program.

What was once known as the Home Study Program is one of the nation's oldest and largest distance-education programs, with 40 courses offered in supermarket, food distribution and convenience store operations. It is the only distance-learning program in the world for food store employees, with 18,000 students enrolled at any one time.

"This new option, for which there is no additional charge, expands the variety of opportunities for people around the world to access the Cornell courses," says Pierce.

Since 1964, more than 450,000 food industry workers have turned to Cornell's home study program to learn more about food industry management principles and practices. Participants have come from every continent, about 15 countries and more than 1,000 companies. Cornell has an international reputation for leadership in food industry management and extension education. Its course materials offer practical information about developments in the retail food industry.

Courses, which are continually being updated and revised, range from supermarket accounting, business math, meat management and food store security to management of supermarket bakeries, florists and delis. Students can study food distribution in the wholesale and retail business, including human resources, traffic and transportation issues. And they can learn about convenience stores by studying customer service, food safety and time management. Many courses are taught in companies by workshop instructors using materials provided by Cornell.

One of the newest courses is a computer CD-ROM training program on personal hygiene for retail food store managers and associates.

The Cornell program is guided by a 24-member advisory board made up of representatives of food companies, including Publix, Price Chopper, D&W, SuperValu, Giant Food Stores, Big Y, Big V Stop & Shop, Wakefern, FMI, NACS, Fleming Marsh and HY-VEE.

Students have up to one year to complete a course, for which they receive a certificate of completion instead of college credits. Each course costs between $60 and $85.

Information about the program, including course descriptions and enrollment forms, is available on the World Wide Web at http://distance-ed.arme.cornell.edu/, telephone (607) 255-3028 or e-mail at distance-ed@cornell.edu.