Southern Arkansas University Tech in Camden has received a two-year, $1.07 million grant to improve technology and training for faculty.
The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education through its federal CARES Act-funded Institutional Resilience and Expanded Postsecondary Opportunity Grant Competition (IREPO).
SAU Tech was one of two colleges in Arkansas to be awarded the IREPO funding, and the only one to be awarded more than $1 million. The other recipient was South Arkansas Community College in El Dorado, which received a $380,860 grant.
SAU Tech will use the money to upgrade streaming technology in all its classrooms; train faculty as QM-certified online instructors; and improve the college’s email systems, Wi-Fi access and technology for student use.
“This is an amazing opportunity for SAU Tech to become the center of online learning and virtual instruction in South Arkansas,” Chancellor Jason Morrison said in a news release. “As our partners in the community work towards improving broadband access to rural areas, we will be able to deliver instruction live to our online students. No longer will something like a pandemic threaten to take education away from those who already struggle with limited resources.
“This project is really an opportunity for the future of higher education in our state to progress to the next level and for the citizens of Arkansas to benefit.”
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