By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN

Hays Daily News

A new way to earn a high school diploma in Kansas is on the horizon.

Representatives from iQ Academy Kansas, an accredited public online high school offering an education option for students in grades nine through 12, will be in the area this weekend for three open houses.

There will be sessions in Colby and Norton on Saturday, and in Hays on Sunday.

The Holiday Inn Express, 645 W. Willow, will be the site of Colby's open house from 9 to 10:30 a.m. From there, iQ representatives will travel to Norton, where they will meet the public from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Prairie Land Electric Cooperative Inc., 1101 W. Highway 36.

The open house in Hays is set for 1:30 to 3 p.m. in the Holiday Inn, 3603 Vine.

iQ Academy, ready to launch this fall, allows students to excel at their own pace.

A division of KC Distance Learning Inc., the academy is a program of Manhattan High School and the Manhattan-Ogden school district and is available to students of all educational backgrounds.

Those who have benefitted elsewhere, however, are previously home-schooled students, athletes and students busy with other school commitments, students with special needs and ones seeking advanced placement courses or courses not available in their local school district.

The state of Wisconsin is beginning its fourth year with the program and has more than 800 students enrolled, and Kansas and Arizona are launching new programs this year.

Students who enroll in iQ Academy receive a laptop computer loaded with software to access classes, as well as a photo-quality printer.

Students interact with teachers through e-mail, online discussions and tutoring sessions.

Technical support is available 24/7.

Brooke Blanck, administrator of iQ Academy Kansas, and other representatives of the academy have been touring the state since mid-July, informing residents about the program.

They give online demonstrations about the program and how it works and the enrollment process, and students in attendance get a chance to see to how the courses work.

"We've had excellent response so far," Blanck said, who said that, as of today, enrollment exceeds 100. "Our enrollment literally is changing every hour."

More information about the program, as well as a virtual open house, can be found on the academy's Web site at www.iqacademykansas.com. The academy's toll free phone number is (877) 345-4757.

Reporter Diane Gasper-O'Brien can be reached at (785) 628-1081, Ext. 126, or by e-mail at dobrien@dailynews.net.