Leading Consortium of Universities to Offer First Ever Special
8 Week Accelerated Semester to Keep Students Learning
ATLANTA, Ga., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sloan Consortium, an
international association of colleges and universities committed to quality
online education, is offering students displaced by Hurricane Katrina an
opportunity to continue their education at no cost. In collaboration with the
Southern Regional Education Board and with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation, the special accelerated program will provide a wide range of
courses to serve the learning needs of students at the community college,
university and graduate level, regardless of academic discipline. These
courses will be given by major universities and other Sloan Consortium
members. Students interested in finding out more about the program and the
free courses can do so beginning Sunday September 4, 2005 at
http://www.SloanSemester.org.
"We know that many colleges and universities in Alabama, Louisiana and
Mississippi will not be able to resume their fall semesters and students are
scrambling for alternatives," said Dave Spence, President of the Southern
Regional Education Board. "With the help of dozens of colleges and
universities nationwide, we can now offer students key courses online to
bridge them through this difficult time and eventually allow them to return to
their home campuses."
The 8 week accelerated semester is being funded by a grant from the Alfred
P. Sloan Foundation. Colleges and universities offering the courses will forgo
tuition and fees to help students at institutions disrupted by Katrina.
"Online learning can be an important means of academic continuity in a time of
crisis," said Frank Mayadas, Program Director, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
"We are getting a tremendous response from both those who want to offer
courses and from impacted institutions that need the help." At this time, the
goal is to accommodate at least 10,000 student enrollments.
The Southern Regional Education Board (http://www.sreb.org) is the
nation's first interstate compact for education based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Created in 1948 by Southern states, SREB helps government and education
leaders work cooperatively to advance education and, in doing so, to improve
the social and economic life of the region. Included in its 16 member states
are Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. SREB is governed by a Board that
consists of the governor of each member state.
Sloan-C (http://www.sloan-c.org) is the nation's largest association of
institutions and organizations committed to quality online education and
administered through Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering and Babson
College. Its mission is to help learning organizations continually improve
quality, scale, and breadth according to their own distinctive missions, so
that education will become a part of everyday life, accessible and affordable
for anyone, anywhere, at any time, in a wide variety of disciplines.
SOURCE The Sloan Consortium
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Related links:
http://www.SloanSemester.org
http://www.sreb.org http://www.sloan-c.org
CONTACT:
Patti Giglio, +1-202-903-7869, or
psgcom@starpower.net, for The Sloan Consortium
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