UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State Cooperative Extension soon will offer a course to teach small business owners and operators how to use the Internet.

The Access Pennsylvania Main Street program connects small- to medium-sized businesses to the Internet, electronic commerce and global trade. The program teaches Pennsylvania business people about the potential to dramatically increase access to resources and to expand their available markets.

"This program will provide small business owners the information they need to make good decisions about using the Internet in a way that will improve their bottom line," says Bill Shuffstall, Clearfield County extension agent and coordinator of the program. "And that is not always e-commerce, or selling things. We will show them how to get information they need to be effective."

Shuffstall is quick to point out that the Access Pennsylvania program does not try to sell web page-building services. "However, we can advise small business people who have or want Web pages what they need to do to make them better," he says.

The Internet holds a wealth of information small business people need, according to Shuffstall, such as potential new suppliers, explanations of government regulations, the low-down on competitors and services of trade groups, just to name a few.

The 12-hour e-business course is taught in an easy-to-understand format in an informal classroom setting. A substantial portion of the course consists of hands-on exploration of the Internet.

"We will teach small business people how to use e-mail to quickly send and receive information needed in their operations," he says.

The program is new to Pennsylvania, but proven elsewhere.

"We have worked with the University of Minnesota to adopt and modify their program and make it a Penn State program," Shuffstall explained. "It was used in that state and others in the Midwest for more than four years. It is very popular there with small business people because it offers them so much practical help."

Penn State extension agents were trained last summer to offer the Access Pennsylvania Main Street Program and have been forging partnerships with community organizations to offer the program across the state. The course first will be offered in a number of counties in late fall and early winter, running more or less continuously after that.

For more information on the program or to see when and where the course will be offered, visit the Web at http://www.ebusiness.extension.psu.edu.

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EDITORS: Contact Bill Shuffstall at 814-765-7878 or at ebusiness@email.cas.psu.edu.

Contact:

Jeff Mulhollem jjm29@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-865-1068 fax