UOC promotes access to quality online higher education by extending grants to Latin American institutions

The university systems of many countries have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, a situation that may impact access to higher education in the coming semesters. Universities have adopted online education as an emergency method to guarantee continuity of instruction, but neither teachers nor students were prepared for this and drop-out rates above 50% are anticipated in some Latin American countries. 

With the aim of guaranteeing access to and coverage of quality higher education, the UOC is working with governments and institutions to build and consolidate regulations and virtual and hybrid educational models, supporting them in training faculty members, integrating online quality variables and extending student access opportunities through grants. 

"Higher education is essential if we are to improve our response as a society to situations like the current one," said Pastora Martínez Samper, vice president of Globalization and Cooperation, who left us with this thought: "Quality e-learning can complement on-site universities and facilitate access, regardless of the circumstances."

One of the measures in place for this contingency is the extension of grants in a number of countries: in Ecuador, through the SENECYT, 200 grants are to be awarded for this semester, and for the first time a call for grant applications has been opened for students in Peru.

The UOC has been promoting access to higher education for Latin American students for years in collaboration with government institutions and agencies: the SENECYT in Ecuador, ICETEX in Colombia and the OAS throughout the region. "We are working alongside governments and higher education agencies to offer greater higher education coverage," explained the UOC's deputy general manager of Global Development, Inés Teresa-Palacio.

Emergency remote teaching

In view of the situation, the UOC has created a free and open series of training courses to help faculty transition to online teaching during the state of emergency. The site has courses and resources for teachers to learn the basics of online teaching and apply that knowledge to their day-to-day tasks.

Over 15,000 people in more than 10 countries in Europe and Latin America have signed up for webinars on key aspects of online teaching that seek to strengthen distance education in different areas and at various academic levels.