Having gone online with no connectivity problems, the school is negotiating volume discounts with corporations that use the school, he said.

At this point, the cyber-teaching establishment's student body amounts to "just a handful," who are taking courses and paying for it themselves, he said.

"We get e-mail queries and phone calls every day" from prospective students, he reported.

Mr. Welsh said he expected to have relevant statistics on enrollment when a count is taken at the end of the first quarter and that course offerings may be modified at that time.

Among the courses that the Academy currently offers are: Introduction to Insurance Fraud Investigation; Staged Auto Accidents; Training Theory and Skills for Fraud Investigators; and Workers' Compensation Fraud. Courses are $50 apiece.

Each package of instruction is delivered over the Web within an hour-and-a half module.

Academy offerings are accessible round-the-clock, and anyone who pays his or her fee by credit card can sign up and enroll.

The Academy is a coalition effort by insurance and law enforcement groups and is being operated by the National Insurance Crime Bureau in Palos Hills, where Mr. Welsh is vice president of training.

The site has a server in Atlanta. Mr. Webb said so far the operation has cost about $300,000 to put together.

Robert M. Bryant, the president and chief executive officer of the NICB, in a write-up of the program, noted that it will assist law enforcement officers, claims representatives, investigators and underwriters in learning the latest techniques to fight insurance fraud, and that it will do so in a short period of time.

Mr. Welsh said when students get finished with a course, they can use what they've learned at their desks immediately. "We're providing practical nuts and bolts, how-to instruction," he said.

He also said that the courses have quizzes throughout and test at the end.

He said the cyber academy software permits corporations that enroll students to check on their participation.

Besides the course offerings, NICTA sells training and investigative aids including videos and literature.

PowerPoint educational programs, along with vehicle identification and fraud reference manuals, are also available for purchase.

Among those in the coalition behind NICTA are the National Association of Independent Insurers, the Alliance of American Insurers, the American Insurance Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the International Association of Special Investigative Units, the U.S. Department of Justice and the National White Collar Crime Center Training and Research Institute.

NICTA's Cyber Academy is at www.nicta.org