Campus Talk: UA System Faculty To Meet For eVersity Planning
by December 16, 2014 6:08 am 110 views
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UA SYSTEM FACULTY TO MEET FOR eVERSITY PLANNING
Faculty from the University of Arkansas System will meet Wednesday and Thursday (Dec. 17 and 18) to begin curriculum development for eVersity, the state’s online university program. Educators will meet at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute on Petit Jean Mountain for the planning conference.
eVersity will cater to adult students who are unable to otherwise access a traditional college education. By establishing the eVersity, the UA System has said it hopes to attract Arkansas students who may have turned to for-profit institutions to obtain their education. Another core group that will be targeted by the new school will be adult learners who may have obtained some college credit but have not yet completed their degrees.
At Wednesday’s retreat, faculty members will develop study plans and curricula for four major areas: criminal justice, business, information technology and health care management. All four areas are targeted to meet workforce needs. The teams will develop certificate, associate, baccalaureate and graduate degree programs for eVersity, which plans to begin offering classes in Fall 2015.
“Quality academic programs must rest on the foundation of strong faculty,” said Dr. Michael Moore, VP for academic affairs for the UA System. “The eVersity is fortunate to have broad-based support from outstanding, experienced and diverse faculty across the University of Arkansas System who are willing to devote their expertise to building workplace-relevant degree programs. I am excited to be working alongside these teams toward our goal of providing Arkansans with opportunities they thought might have passed them by.”
The eVersity effort has been met with resistance from two faculty senates, one at the flagship University of Arkansas campus and the other at UALR. For a breakdown of the curriculum teams, connect here.
COLLEGE OF THE OUACHITAS PRESIDENT MEETS THE PRESIDENT
Two weeks ago, College of the Ouachitas’ President Dr. Stephen Schoonmaker was standing on a stage with President Barack Obama. Taking part in the White House College Opportunity Day of Action, Schoonmaker was in attendance highlighting his Malvern-based school’s efforts in innovation regarding student success.
College of the Ouachitas’ modular math curricula is considered a leader in helping academically at-risk students with free remediation services on campus so they do not expend financial aid before entering college-level classes. It was the first of its kind in Arkansas starting in 2003, according to the two-year college.
At the ceremony held Dec. 4, Obama outlined new goals for college opportunities and announced $10 million in funding to help promote college completion and a $30 million AmeriCorps program aimed at improving low-income students’ access to college.
You can watch a video of the event at this link.
DHS RECEIVES $60 MILLION PRE-K GRANT
The pre-kindergarten Arkansas Better Chance program will receive nearly $15 million a year over four years in federal dollars for programs in 10 counties, the state Department of Human Services’ Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (DCCECE) announced Wednesday (Dec. 10).
Funding will serve about 1,670 Arkansas children annually and add 2,240 new pre-kindergarten slots. The grant, which is administered by the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, will serve Craighead, Crittenden, Jefferson, Lonoke, Miller, Pulaski, St. Francis, Searcy, Union, and Washington Counties.
GOV.-ELECT ASA HUTCHINSON WILL SEARCH FOR NEW EDUCATION CHIEF
Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson plans for current Arkansas Education Commissioner Tony Wood to remain in that post “for some time,” but will look to hire someone else over the longer term, Hutchinson said Friday (Dec. 12).
Hutchinson said, “In terms of the future, I want to have somebody that has the experience in Arkansas. I don’t want to bring somebody in that we need to educate them on what Lake View is all about. And obviously when you look at experts in education in Arkansas, you look at the superintendents that are there, the retired superintendents, the people who have experience in being in the classroom, being in our schools, and so that’s the type of experience I think is important for a commissioner.”