Lansing - Lansing Community College is making it easier for members of the Michigan National Guard to complete college degrees.

The college, 500 N. Washington Square, will waive all application, course and technology fees for virtual classes for the 13,000 members of the Michigan National Guard.

Representatives from LCC and the military met Wednesday at LCC’s Technology Learning Center to sign documents initiating the relationship.

“It provides an opportunity for the men and women that serve in the Michigan National Guard to complete their education at a reduced rate,” Assistant Adjutant General Brig. Gen. Robert Taylor said. “It is an opportunity for the community here to thank the men and women that serve.”

Taylor said he expects members of the Guard to take part in the program.

In the past year, LCC has increased online offerings from two degree programs to 10. It now offers 109 online courses, and enrollment is up 300 percent in the last year.

Some of the degree programs offered are criminal justice, business administration associate and computer programmer.

“If you were called up to active duty, and you wanted to complete your education, normally you’d have to wait until you return to go to a structured classroom,” college President Paula Cunningham said. “But this way, anyplace, anytime, that you want to sign on for a virtual class, you are able to do that.”

Cunningham said she is excited about the opportunity to team up with the Michigan National Guard, especially after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“We are excited about the work that the virtual college at LCC is doing,” she said. “We are offering so many courses online that it is making education more accessible to all students.”

About 700 members of the Michigan National Guard have been called to duty since the attacks, Tim Brannan, LCC’s Distance Learning Office director, said during a press conference.

“If you are a national guardsman or woman in the state of Michigan, you might be in the Upper Peninsula, but you can take a course or a degree program online,” Brannan said.

Brannan said students usually don’t need to come to campus at all because tests can often be proctored in other locations.

“We have provided all the student services so you don’t necessarily need to come to campus for testing or proctoring or even tutoring services,” he said.

For more information on online classes at LCC, visit www.lansing.cc.mi.us/distancelearning.