Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships Grant
Funded by the US Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Post-secondary Education (FIPSE)
1999-2005
Taking advantage of the capabilities and opportunities that the Internet was offering to the educational setting, HETS received a LAAP grant from FIPSE to develop a bundle of virtual learning and support services for students and faculty from member institutions through a one-stop innovative site popularly known among membership as the Virtual Plaza. This project included a one-stop virtual place with student and faculty online academic and support resources, an online mentoring program, and training modules. Through this project, HETS also provided incentives and encouraged the development of online courses at 14 member colleges and universities. The Virtual Plaza was more than a website; it turned out to be a virtual community for learning, support, and collaboration for students, faculty, and professional mentors. , the LAAP Project contributed with methods and services to enhance the distance learning experience of Hispanic students and faculty in Higher Education.
While creating synergy from each other members'''' assets, the LAAP Project contributed with methods and services to enhance the distance learning experience of Hispanic students and faculty in higher education. We should mention the Virtual Learning and Support Plaza, the Academic Collaboration Project (today called the Online Learning Collaboration Initiatives Project, the e-Mentoring Project for students, online faculty workshops, and online modules for faculty and student support.
The Online Learning Collaboration Initiatives Program
Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships Grant
Funded by the US Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Post-secondary Education (FIPSE)
2003-2005
This HETS initiative supported member colleges and universities in developing cost efficient alternatives to help increase their educational offerings and distance learning opportunities for Hispanic students. This program fostered partnership initiatives to create joint online minors, continuing education certificates, and professional programs that responded to the particular needs of Hispanic students at member institutions. Through this initiative, faculty from member colleges and universities worked together to develop and offer a completely online programs and joint services, guided by a Program Leader, while institutional leaders developed policies to make this collaborative programs come true.
The Online Learning Collaboration Initiatives Program started in June 2003, with the First Annual HETS Workshop for Institutional Leaders on Collaboration Initiatives. This workshop brought together key leaders from HETS member institutions to examine the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (GPIDEA) model for inter-institutional collaboration, and create a plan to develop joint online programs and student support services.
On December 2003, four out of six projects evaluated received a HETS-LAAP grant for program development. These focused in the areas of Cross-Cultural Health Care, Security Management, Bilingual Journalism, and Online Learning Support for Non-Native English Speakers. The first three were proposed to be certificate programs and/or minors, while the last one, Hispanic Online Learning Access (HOLA) Project, involved the development of a repository of virtual learning tools (“learning objects”) intended to help non-native speakers of English succeed in higher education. Learning Objects were made available at the Student Placita of the HETS Virtual Plaza as downloadable modules to be used by both students and faculty.
