Classrooms as wide as a river and as high as a mountain are gaining popularity at numerous Virginia colleges.

Enrolling in them are students who seek to learn about the environment firsthand.

A variety of venues from land to water, beach to mountain are being used. They vary in length from daylong white-water raft trips to week-or-more hiking and camping. They also vary in the amount of physical stamina needed.

Some are part of orientation programs while others continue sporadically during a semester or academic year. A program at Emory & Henry involves the entire campus community students, faculty and staff.

At Virginia Military Institute, entering freshmen get an obligatory workout before classes begin, while at Old Dominion University one program begins in August and ends in December.

At the University of Richmond, the outdoors learners are part of a housing program that clusters students with like interests in theme-oriented dormitory areas. Hence any pre-dawn hikers won't disturb the late sleepers. At Washington and Lee University, there also is a special house for students interested in outdoor activity. Virginia Tech has off-site education courses that take students hiking in Arizona and New Mexico.

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Here's what to expect at a sampling of colleges:

Old Dominion: Dr. Eddy Hill described a program that makes good use of the area's many natural advantages. Nearby First Landing State Park offers excellent opportunities for studying coastal environment. The longest session, from August to December, includes 50 students.

Backpacking in Virginia is a four-week class that includes a weekend camping trip near the Appalachian Trail. .

Aquatics and Education is offered in fall and summer. This includes kayaking and rock climbing. It is principally for future teachers of these skills.

Resource management is a "mostly classroom," course for which National Park Service staff serve as instructors. At least one field trip is included.

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Emory & Henry College: "The E&H campus is nestled in an outdoor adventure paradise," said Professor James Harrison, the director of the Outdoor Leadership Program.

An area of the Virginia Highlands surrounds the college and offers numerous trails, national forests and rivers.

E&H Outdoor Leadership Program serves students who want to develop advanced skills and certification in a variety of outdoor activities, including caving, climbing, canoeing, kayaking and long-distance back-packing. During this two-year program, students gain experience and competence to lead their own adventures.

A second aspect of the program is the E&H Outdoor Adventure Program, which is available to the entire E&H community. The program brings faculty, staff and students together for an introduction to the challenges of outdoor activities.

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University of Richmond: First-year college men can apply for the College Extreme program, which accepts no more than 15 students (this year 10 are enrolled). They live together in the first-year dormitory.

The agenda includes hikes along the James River climaxed by white-water rafting on the Gauley River in West Virginia. On the last trip no raft flipped. There they met rafters from all over the United States and one from India. Other trips include an overnight hike in October.

The field trips emphasize conservation and giving back to nature as much as they receive.

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Virginia Military Institute: True to tradition, incoming students immediately face a "Rat Challenge." Overseen by the department of physical education, the program is run day to day by upper-class cadets. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, "Rats" are engaged in strenuous exercises that include rock climbing and rappelling and even river crossing on a zip line.

A "Rat Olympics" pits some 200 Rats with about 80 upperclassmen. Included are such sports as mud wrestling, a climb up House Mountain and an obstacle course. Also involved is a high ropes course as well as one on a 40-foot-high cable.

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Virginia Tech: As might be expected, many courses involve studying in outdoor classrooms, according to Suzie Leslie, academic advisor for the College of Natural Resources.

A basic course on natural resources conservation is a must. Three options are: recreation that yields a sense of intimacy with the out-of-doors; natural resource education and natural resource science. An introductory course gives a sampling of the many facets of the field from forests to fish.

Off-site education includes three weeks of camping and hiking in Arizona and New Mexico for recreation majors and four weeks at the 4-H Camp at Appomattox for forestry students. Activity clubs allow members to enjoy such activities as tubing, mountain biking, camping and hiking.