HETS “Celebrated Technology Innovation for Hispanic Success in Higher Education” with its Best Practices Showcase, bringing together more than 25 of its member institutions in Puerto Rico and United States. This event took place Thursday, February 1st and Friday, February 2nd, 2018 at Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Metro Campus in San Juan, Puerto Rico; and allowed the Consortium to share innovative projects and best practices. This was the fifth time that HETS was able to host this event for the benefit of attendees from different Higher Education institutions.
This year, the Conference featured local and national speakers and showcased more than 24 best practices in the tracks of Access, Retention and Distance Learning. The conference opened with a President’s Panel, moderated by HETS Chair, Dr. Carlos Vargas (Southeast Missouri State University) in which, Dr. Antonio Pérez (Borough of Manhattan Community College), Dr. Gloria Baquero (National University College), Dr. Carlos Morales (TCC Connect Campus of Tarrant County College), and Dr. Omayra Caraballo on behalf of President Manuel Fernós (Inter American University of Puerto Rico) shared with the participant an remarkable discussion related to their institution’s efforts to achieve excellence in areas of Access, Retention and Distance Learning.
In addition, as part of the Conference’s program more than best practices were shared with attendees related to the use of new technologies (such as gamification) in the classroom, new tools used to support present and online students, technologies to enhance students’ engagement and success, assessment processes, effective metrics to monitor online retention and integration of social media to the academic atmosphere among others. The videos of all presentations will be available soon at the event page in our website and also at the HETS You Tube Channel.
As a value added to participants, Dr. Juan “Tito” Meléndez and a group of doctorate students of the University of Puerto Rico, presented the results of their research about theory and practice of online education in Puerto Rico. Also during the conference two panel of experts, where showcased including one with the winners of each track; Dr. Carmen Cid from Eastern Connecticut State University (retention track winner and conference’s highest score), Dr. Karen González and Dr. Roxana Domenech from Universidad Metropolitana, Cupey Campus, AGMUS (access track winners), and from the Inter American Universtiy of Puerto Rico, Ponce Campus, Dr. Lisbel Correa (distance learning tack winner).
As part of the conference events, HETS celebrated its Academic Fair on Thursday, February 1st, from 5:00 to 8:00 pm with more than 300 participants, including the group of the Zyrux 2018 class from the Escuela Superior Acreditada Urbana in Aguas Buenas, which were the winners of a $400 prize for being the group with the most participants attending the fair. The fair was held at the main lobby of Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Metro Campus. Students and professionals interested in learning more about academic offerings to complete a college degree enjoyed and took advantage, free of charge, of this Academic Fair.
HETS would like to recognize the valuable collaboration of Mr. Manuel Fernós, Esq., HETS Treasurer and UIPR President, and Prof. Marilina Wayland, Chancellor of the Metro Campus, and her staff for hosting and made possible the success of this event while making everyone felt like home. For more information about this event, access the Conference webpage on this website, call the HETS Office at 787- 250-1912, extensions 2372 and 2373, or send an email to info@hets.org.
A playlist with all videos is available at our YouTube channel, you can access it here: 2018 Best Practices Showcase – YouTube
