The Distance Learning System (DLS) at WNCC began its operation in fall 1995 with two interactive television classrooms connected by T-1 phone line. The DLS uses video and audio technologies to deliver classes between the Scottsbluff Campus, Sidney Center, Alliance Center, Center for Business and Industry Training (CBIT), and various high schools in the surrounding area. 

Students are able to see and interact with instructors and students at each remote site involved in the connection.  Instructors are able to use the computer, vcr, desktop presenter or a slide projector and send the images to the television screens at the remote sites.
 
 

 
The Western Nebraska Distance Learning Consortium (WNDLC) was created as a partnership between secondary and post-secondary schools to share classes in the panhandle region, and it enables WNCC to send college classes to various sites throughout the panhandle via high-bandwidth fiber optic cable. Locations participating in the initial phase include the high schools in Mitchell, Morrill, Gering, Scottsbluff, and Bridgeport, as well as Educational Service Unit #13, Chadron State College, and Western Nebraska Community College.

Since WNCC’s distance learning system's beginning in 1995, hundreds of students have been able to take classes that they otherwise could not have considered because of time restraints or scheduling difficulties.  By resolving the probems involved with lengthy commutes through rural areas, the DLS has proven to be a valuable service for many in Nebraska’s panhandle region.