News
- HETS Executive Officers elected during their first ever virtual Board Meeting on summer 2020.
HETS Executive officers’ election were held during an historically virtual Board Meeting celebrated through Zoom digital platform, on June 25, 2020. More than 30 Board Members and special guests connected from Puerto Rico, United States and Colombia. As part of the meeting agenda, Dr. Carlos Morales, President, TCC Connect Campus of Tarrant County College from Texas, was elected as HETS Chair. Collaborating with Dr. Morales will be, Mr. Manuel J. Fernós, President of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, as Vice Chair, Eng. Gladys Nieves, President of EDP University as Treasurer; and Dr. Carlos Vargas, President of Southeast Missouri State University as Secretary. Elected as Regional Representatives were: Dr. Tomás Morales, President, California State University San Bernardino; Dr. Havidán Rodríguez, President, University at Albany (SUNY); and Dr. Maritza Rondón, Chancellor of the Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia. All appointments will start term on July 1st, 2020 for two years as stated in HETS Bylaws. We would like to recognize the hard work and commitment of the past officers during their tenure. We truly appreciate that they will be continuing serving as officers in a new role. To learn more ... - HETS Leadership Perspective during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ever since its inception in 1993, the Hispanic Educational Technology Services (HETS), formerly known as Hispanic Educational Telecommunications System, has been a pioneer in supporting the development of distance learning initiatives across colleges and universities in Puerto Rico, mainland United States, and Latin America. Although HETS support and value has been widely known among it’s members for more than 25 years, the organization’s goal is to increase it’s relevance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officers of the HETS Board of Directors, constituted by the presidents or designated representatives of each member institution, were interviewed to learn their perspective about the impact of HETS membership on their institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of this HETS Leadership Perspectives series, interviews in Spanish and English were held with HETS Chair, Dr. Carlos Vargas-Aburto, President of Southeast Missouri State University, and Vice Chair Dr. Carlos Morales, President of Tarrant County College Connect Campus. HETS also conducted interviews in Spanish with Manuel J. Fernós, President of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, HETS Treasurer and one of HETS’s first officers, and Eng. Gladys Nieves, ... - Call for Articles for the Volume XI of HETS Online Journal in another special collaboration with HACU
I am pleased to announce the call for articles for the Volume XI of HETS Online Journal in another special collaboration with HACU. This is a result of a successful Fall 2019 Issue publication together. This joint effort highlighted both organizations shared missions to facilitate the success of Hispanic students in higher education, particularly on this new academic scenario due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
We invite you to download the guidelines to submit your article for this Fall Issue is on or before September 25, 2020. Your submission should be an original work either in English or Spanish. Just send it to the HETS office via e-mail to: info@hets.org. The HETS Online Journal is included in EBSCO Publishing’s databases, and its mail goal of is share best practices and the latest information in higher education and showcase the exciting work being done by our colleagues.
This time, this special collaboration welcome Dr. Marcela G. Cuellar from the University of California, Davis, who will represent HACU as invited editor. Dr. Cuellar will work with the Editor in Chief, Pamela Vargas, and members of
the Editorial Board: Dr. Ana Milena Lucumi, Mr. Sunil Gupta, Dr. ... - Update on HETS services offered due to COVID-19
Following the guidelines of the HETS Treasurer and President of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico (our host institution), Manuel J. Fernós, Esq., since March 16 we have been working remote to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and support the academic community in this new scenario. Consequently, HETS staff were totally committed to continue offering our services that includes the following (click on the links to learn more):
A total of 23 tutorials in Spanish and English were recorded with HETS Ambassadors students and published to promote services free of charge at the Student Placita in the HETS Virtual Plaza.
Two Student Leadership Showcase Tour Online were held on May 1 and 8, 2020 trough Zoom to more than 500 students to reinforce their leadership skills and promote HETS services and tools totally free of charge for them.
A total of 10 webinars in Spanish and 4 webinars in English regarding Distance Learning were offered to more than 4,000 participants to support faculty and administrators on this new modality.
The Spring Issue, Volume X of the HETS Online Journal was published with nine ... - HETS anuncia fechas del Student Leadership Showcase Tour Online (1 y 8 de mayo de 2020).
Estudiante, te invitamos los viernes, 1ro de mayo de 2020 y el 8 de mayo de 2020 a las 11:00 am (EST) a participar del HETS Student Leadership Showcase Tour Online, a través de Zoom. El propósito del evento es desarrollar el liderazgo estudiantil y tendremos como invitado al Prof. Albert Troche, miembro del Comité Asesor de HETS y al Dr. Joe Díaz, respectivamente. También, queremos promover el acceso a servicios en línea libre de costo que apoyen tu carrera profesional. Estos servicios incluyen: información sobre becas, internados, herramientas tecnológicas, prácticas de exámenes y mucho más. A su vez, queremos conocer tus intereses y necesidades para poder colaborar en la búsqueda de soluciones y servicios que te apoyen. Este evento es libre de costo, solo tienes que registrarte para recibir el enlace de Zoom para poder conectarte y participar del evento. Debido al espacio que brinda Zoom, solo podrán participar 400 estudiantes del evento en vivo. Ver los detalles del evento aquí:
Día: viernes, 1ro de mayo de 2020 (Ver grabación aquí)
Hora: 11:00 am a 12:00 pm (EST/hora de PR)
Lugar: vía Zoom (400 ... - HETS launches a new series of bilingual tutorials to promote the student services available at the Student Placita of the Virtual Plaza.
In response to the new academic scenario as a result of covid-19, HETS announces the publication of new tutorials in Spanish and English to promote services of highest demand at the Student Placita in the HETS Virtual Plaza. The protagonists of these videos are some of the members of the HETS Student Ambassadors Program in Puerto Rico. A total of 12 new videos were recorded in Spanish, in addition to 11 tutorials in English. Among the Student Placita services promoted in these tutorials are: a summary of all the services of the Student Placita; access to various entrepreneurship courses; and tutorials to improve English as a second language from USA Learns; the Testing and Educational Reference Center (TERC); which include scholarship search, test practice, and e-books to study and prepare to take these tests; the Career Transitions; topics such as the search for internships and employment, job interview simulator, resume and cover letter builder, and vocational interest tests.
The purpose of this initiative is to show how to access HETS online services so that students from our member institutions can take ... - HETS publica nueva serie de tutoriales bilingües para promover los servicios de la Placita de Estudiantes de su Plaza Virtual.
En respuesta a este nuevo escenario académico como resultado del covid-19, HETS anuncia la publicación de nuevos tutoriales en español y en inglés para promover los servicios de mayor demanda dentro de la Student Placita en la Plaza Virtual de HETS. Los protagonistas de estos videos son varios de los Estudiantes Embajadores de HETS en Puerto Rico. Se realizaron un total de 12 nuevos videos en español, además de 11 tutoriales en inglés. Entre los servicios de la Placita de Estudiantes promovidos en estos tutoriales está: un resumen de todos los servicios del Student Placita; acceso a diversos cursos de empresarismo; y a tutoriales para mejorar el inglés como segundo idioma de USA Learns; el Testing and Educational Reference Center; (TERC por sus siglas en inglés) que incluyen búsqueda de becas, prácticas de exámenes y los libros electrónicos para prepararse; el Career Transitions; con temas como la búsqueda de internados y empleo, simulador de entrevistas, preparación de resumes y cartas de presentación y pruebas de interés vocacional.
El propósito de esta iniciativa es mostrar cómo acceder los servicios en línea de HETS para que los ...
- HETS services available online to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Greetings, and we hope you are doing fine. HETS Treasurer and President of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico (our host institution), Manuel J. Fernós, Esq. has decreed an academic and administrative recess, for all its academic units and academies, from Monday, March 16 until further notice with the objective of protecting the health and well-being of the university community. This is also in support of the call of the Governor of Puerto Rico to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, HETS office will be closed until further notice, however you may still contact us sending an email to info@hets.org or calling to the Executive Director’s cellular phone (787) 616-3201. In addition, you can follow us our social media, like Twitter or Facebook for the latest news regarding HETS. Hope we can get back soon to serve you as usual! But now, our main interest is for all our constituencies and general community to be safe.
- Honoring the memory of a visionary man: José María Antón, Virtual Educa’s General Secretariat.
We regret to share that Virtual Educa’s General Secretariat, José María Antón died of coronavirus on Saturday in Spain. The previous week he had tested positive for Covid-19 and entered intensive care and pass away last Saturday March 21st. We are deeply sad with his loss and would like to honor his memory and highlight his leadership and commitment with education. As a visionary man and exceptional professional, José María Antón always promoted programs and initiatives for innovation in Education, as basic mechanisms for sustainable development and social transformation, especially in the Americas Latin America and the Caribbean. His guidance and important role will be deeply missed, precisely in this new academic scenario that we are living now, that he was totally committed to.
As a very important partner, HETS will continue the collaboration with Virtual Educa signed on February 2019 (click here to learn more). This agreement allows us join efforts to develop projects that link entities from Latin American, Caribbean countries and with related agencies in other regions of the world. Although José María leadership will be enormously missed, ... - Access to watch the videos of the presentations from the 2020 Best Practices Showcase
HETS is pleased to announce that the videos of it’s 2020 Best Practices Showcase, Celebrating Technology Innovation for Hispanic Success in Higher Education, are available at our web page. Visit the Conference Schedule section of the event page and access the links to watch the videos. A playlist with all videos is available at our YouTube channel, you can access it here: 2020 BPS video playlist.
Celebrated January 16 and 17, 2020 the HETS Best Practices Showcase highlighted the outstanding work of its member institutions focused on three main tracks: Access, Retention, and Online Learning and Technology Integration in Higher Education. During this year, several presenters excused themselves from the Conference due to the earthquakes emergency and those videos are not available to watch. However, you can also learn more about the best practices by accessing correspondent title on the schedule page. We would like to recognize the collaboration of HETS member institutions, whose experts showcased their best practices to support Hispanic student population and finding ways to provide a space for member institution to share this expertise. Do not hesitate to ... - On its sixth edition, the 2020 Best Practices Showcase gathered more than 25 Institutions from Puerto Rico, Latin America, and United States in San Juan.
A sixth edition of the HETS Best Practices Showcase was held in Puerto Rico, bringing together more than 25 of its member institutions. This event took place in January 16 and January 17, 2020 at the Law School of the Inter American University in San Juan, Puerto Rico; and allowed the Consortium to share innovative projects and best practices. More than 100 attendees from Puerto Rico, Latin America, and United States took advantage of the presentations shared by different Higher Education institutions.
This year, the Conference featured local and national speakers and showcased more than 20 best practices in the tracks of Access, Retention, and Online Learning and Technology Integration. The conference opened with a Plenary session by Dr. Peter Shea, Associate Provost for Online Learning, University at Albany. Dr. Shea addressed to attendees about Best Practices for a promising future of (online) learning in the age of AI and automation. In addition, this year as part of the Conference’s program best practices were shared with attendees related to better serving Distance Learning Students, transfer process, retention, hybrid programs, culture of Hispanic ... - BEST Practices Showcase and Board of Directors will be held as scheduled in San Juan, PR! (January 16 and 17, 2020)
HETS is pleased to share that after a meeting with HETS Chair, Carlos Vargas-Aburto, and HETS officers, David Gómez and Manuel J. Fernós, we have decided to celebrate the HETS Best Practices Showcase and Board of Directors Meeting, as scheduled on January 16 and 17, 2020 at Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Law School in San Juan, PR. Our host, president Fernós from Inter American University, confirmed that the venue of the meeting was inspected by structural engineers, who had certified that the Law School buildings doesn’t have damages, and are in optimal conditions and with electric power. We encourage you to come to attend the conference and register online on this link: https://hets.org/hets-best-practices-showcase-2020/2020-best-practices-showcase-registration/. Only the Academic Fair was cancelled to assure the security of our students. Once again, thank you for your unwavering support to the HETS Consortium. If you need further information please contact us at the Executive Director’s phone (787) 616-3201. Looking forward to seeing you this week in PR!
- Save the Date! HETS Best Practices Showcase, January 16 and 17, 2020! We are pleased to announce that the 2020 HETS Best Practices Showcase, Celebrating Innovation to Promote Hispanic Student Success in Higher Education, will take place at the Inter American University Law School during January 16 and 17 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Access and download the Conference Program at: https://hets.org/hets-best-practices-showcase-2020/2020-best-practices-showcase-schedule/.
In addition, the online registration for the event is available at:
https://hets.org/hets-best-practices-showcase-2020/2020-best-practices-showcase-registration/. Our goal is to have representation from most HETS Member Institutions, and Hispanic Serving Institutions at this event. Please save these dates to attend this special gathering!
If you need more information do not hesitate to contact the HETS office at (787) 250-1912 exts. 2373, 2372; 787-616-3201 or via e-mail: info@hets.org. Thank you for your support to HETS and it’s Best Practices Showcase initiative.
Looking forward to seeing you again in San Juan, PR on January 16 & 17, 2020!
- In a special collaboration with HACU, the Volume X of the HETS Online Journal has been published
We are delighted to highlight the publication of the Fall Issue, Volume X, of the HETS Online Journal. This is a peer review journal that started on year 2010, with issues published every semester. The HETS journal addresses relevant topics impacting technology and Hispanic Students, including student retention and assessment, and the very important topic of student access. As our Chair, Dr. Carlos Vargas-Aburto said on his message: “the Fall 2019 issue is a special collaborative effort between HETS and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). This collaborative issue highlights the organizations’ shared mission: to facilitate the success of Hispanic students in higher education.”
As a result of this strategic collaboration and team effort, we appreciate Dr, Antonio Flores, president & CEO of HACU comments: “we are particularly thrilled to see faculty and administrators at HACU-member institutions represented among the authors in this edition. The HETS Journal maintains an important role in the world of academic publishing in higher education. I trust you will find this issue to be a useful resource as we collectively work to serve the 3.6 million Hispanic ... - Por sexto año consecutivo, se celebra el HETS Student Leadership Showcase con casa llena.
Más de 740 estudiantes llenaron el Teatro para participar de la 6ta edición del HETS Student Leadership Showcase el viernes, 13 de septiembre de 2019 en el Recinto Metropolitano de la Universidad Interamericana en Cupey. Como en eventos anteriores, tuvimos estudiantes de las instituciones afiliadas en Puerto Rico: American University, Atenas College, Universidad Carlos Albizu, Colegio Universitario de San Juan, EDP University, National University College, ICPR Junior College, Universidad Central del Caribe, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Ponce Health Science University, Universidad Ana G. Méndez los anfitriones la Universidad Interamericana de PR. Además, participaron invitados de instituciones invitadas como la Universidad Politécnica de PR y la Pontificia Universidad Católica de PR y por primera vez participaron estudiantes de la Escuela Laboratorio de la UIPR, CEDIN.
Con una agenda muy variada, el evento comenzó cuando el animador y miembro del Comité Asesor de Estudiantes de HETS, el Prof. Albert Troche, quien brindó una cálida bienvenida a los asistentes. A este saludo se unió la Rectora del Recinto Metro, la Profa. Marilina Wayland y la Directora Ejecutiva de HETS, la Sra. Yubelkys Montalvo, quien ...