University News
7,300 Miles to Graduation
December 9, 2002
MACOMB, IL -- What has eight legs and traveled more than 7,300 miles to attend Western Illinois University's fall graduate commencement ceremony?
The Friday, Dec. 13 commencement will feature four students from Guam, the Marshall Islands, Pohnpei and Chuuk who have completed online masters degrees in instructional technology and telecommunications. The four will be on campus this week to tour the institution, meet with professors and take part in the graduation ceremony.
Frank Camacho of Guam, Monroe David of Pohnpei, Brenda Alik-Maddison of the Marshall Islands and Sanfio Sony of Chuuk are part of a 22-member cohort of students in the South Pacific who were offered the opportunity to complete a masters degree from Western. The opportunity was created through a joint effort between Westerns College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) and the Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL).
According to COEHS Dean Bonnie Smith-Skripps, PREL approached Western in 1999 about the possibility of joining forces to build the capacity of educators in the Pacific region in order for them to competently utilize and appropriately integrate technology into their teaching and learning. PREL serves schools in 10 U.S. affiliates of the Pacific region whose political status ranges from statehood to free association, and its service region has a population of 1.6 million people spread over an area of approximately 4.9 million square miles of islands and atolls. Beyond the logistical challenges, at least nine Pacific cultures are prominent within the region.
The result of the COEHS/PREL partnership was a 35-semester hour program of study of courses from Westerns instructional technology and telecommunications (ITT) and educational and interdisciplinary studies (EIS) departments. The program has been delivered through a combination of face-to-face meetings, satellite broadcasts and online instruction. Students chosen to participate in the cohort serve a variety of educational roles on their respective islands. Courses were revised and adapted to emphasize cultural appropriateness and contextual relevance.
The degree program kicked off in January 2001 with a face-to-face meeting between students and Western staff in Honolulu, Hawaii. The two-week orientation served to introduce the students to the program and to set the stage for what was to occur over the next two years.
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Since then, 11 COEHS faculty and staff and two PREL staff members have coordinated the online degree program. Twenty-two Pacific educators will complete their degree programs this month and will receive masters degrees from Western, without ever having set foot on campus.
Camacho, David, and Maddison and Sony are being sponsored by their respective Departments of Education to travel to Western to accept their degrees in person.
"These individuals have overcome tremendous geographic and cultural barriers to complete their degree programs, and are extremely anxious to visit the institution," Smith-Skripps said.
The College of Education and Human Services will host a reception in the Union Capitol Rooms in their honor following the Dec. 13 graduate commencement. The reception is open to anyone interested in meeting Camacho, David, and Maddison and Sony.
Posted By: Darcie Shinberger (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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