ATLANTA — The Southern Regional Education Board has received the 2006 WCET Outstanding Work (WOW) Award for innovative assistance to students affected by Hurricane Katrina.
WCET, formerly the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications, created the first WOW Humanitarian and Leadership Award in its history to recognize SREB for creating a complete online institution for college students in just 21 days following the storm.
When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in August 2005, SREB and the Sloan Consortium responded quickly by launching the “Sloan Semester.” With support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the initiative provided free online courses and services to displaced college students, creating an academic “bridge” to help them continue their studies and return to their home institutions in the spring term.
Built on SREB’s Electronic Campus, it offered more than 1,350 courses from 155 institutions in 38 states, enabling more than 1,750 students to enroll in courses at multiple institutions in minutes, as well as to gain access to academic counselors, financial aid and other support services.
“Dedicated staff and the cooperation and generosity of many institutions made this possible,” said Bruce Chaloux, director of SREB’s Electronic Campus. “Even more importantly, the Sloan Semester demonstrated the capacity of online learning for meeting student needs.”
WCET is a member-supported organization that advances the effective use of technology in higher education. Based in Boulder, Colorado, it was founded by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education in 1989 and includes members from higher education, government, nonprofit organizations and the private sector from 46 states and eight other countries.
Bruce Chaloux, director of SREB’s Electronic Campus, is available to speak with journalists about the award and the Sloan Semester. Please contact SREB Communications. More information about the Electronic Campus is available at www.sreb.org.
SREB, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, advises state education leaders on ways to improve education. SREB was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to help leaders in education and government work cooperatively to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region. SREB has 16 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Each is represented by its governor and four gubernatorial appointees.
