- Note: the deadline has been extended to May 17, 2020 -
The Department of Human Development, Education and Employment of the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI) of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (SG / OAS) is pleased to open the call for institutions to incorporate their virtual courses into the offer of the Educational Portal of the Americas.
These training opportunities will contribute to meet the development needs of OAS member states by making a vital investment in human capital. Participating institutions will have the possibility of co-certifying different online training programs with the OAS. This call also hopes to include and give visibility to new areas of knowledge on the educational platform.
The Educational Portal of the Americas (hereinafter, PEA) is a program of the OAS Department of Human Development, Education and Employment (DDHEE), which is committed to contributing to development by accessing quality educational options through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
Its educational strategies are implemented mainly through online professional training opportunities, knowledge management, and programs to strengthen institutional capacities for educational innovation. Because the PEA training offer covers the different areas of integral development, its audience include teachers, government officials, policy makers, as well as leaders, entrepreneurs and professionals in any field.
In 2001 the PEA was the first Portal of its kind on the continent, with high-quality distance and mixed education options. Since then, he has worked to improve access to educational opportunities for professionals in the region.
The PEA has benefited more than 35,000 people in the Americas and the Caribbean, with training options in mixed and virtual learning environments. He currently teaches short courses and online diplomas in his Virtual Classroom, offered in alliance with renowned universities and institutions in the region.
The PEA currently offers online courses in alliance with institutions such as the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), the Andrés Bello Agreement, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), among others.
In addition, it has certified diplomas in alliance with the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences FLACSO Chile and the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana de Colombia.
The 2020 call expects more institutions to join our training efforts and more programs to be taught and co-certified with universities and specialized agencies throughout the region.
Higher education institutions, regional and international organizations, research centers and cooperation agencies; who must demonstrate a minimum of 5 years of experience in teaching professional development courses.
To participate, each institution may apply for up to 10 online courses. Each course must be developed for virtual learning environments, with all its units, activities and materials completed. Courses that are 80% complete will be accepted in the initial application, as long as they are completed by the time of review and assembly.
The chosen courses will be incorporated into the PEA offer and, depending on the type of institution, a joint certification model and an income distribution system will be agreed for those programs that are paid. More information on this point is provided later.
The application requirements and the model of participation in the call will depend on the type of institution:
Organization type | Academic institutions (Universities, technical and technological institutes, research centers, higher education entities with recognition of a Ministry of education) | Regional and international organizations, government institutions and cooperation agencies |
Types of courses you can postulate | They will be able to apply with short courses, diplomas and other postgraduate programs. | Organizations of this type can only apply with short course proposals of up to 12 weeks (with a maximum weekly dedication of 8 hours). |
Certification | The OAS and the Applicant Institution They will co-certify the programs. Those who pass the course will receive a diploma issued by the PEA with the logo of the OAS and the academic institution, as well as the signatures of their representatives and a unique identification code for the diploma. | For international organizations: their logo will appear next to the OAS logo on the certificates, will include the signatures of their representatives and a unique diploma identification code. |
Required documents for the application |
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Those courses, diplomas or postgraduate courses already developed that are related to any of the four pillars of the Organization of American States will be taken into account:
- Strengthening Democracy
- Human rights
- Multidimensional Security
- Integral development
Some of the suggested areas:
- Education
- Social Development and Creation of Productive Employment
- Diversification and Economic Integration, Trade Openness and Market Access
- Scientific Development and Technology Exchange and Transfer
- Sustainable development
- Culture
- Resilience (natural disasters, risk management, regional crises, among others)
- Development and strengthening of global citizenship
- Innovation and competitiveness
Institution:
- Demonstrable experience in teaching professional development courses of at least 5 years
- Being a legally constituted institution
- That their courses be developed by interdisciplinary teams that include instructional designers, specialists in pedagogy, new technologies or distance education, as well as thematic experts.
- In the case of higher education institutions, there must be a valid registration or license issued by a national educational authority.
Requirements of the course:
- Have a clear study program, focused on virtual learning environments.
- Materials, activities and a complete evaluation model. (Course proposals will be accepted that are 80% complete at the time of application and are completed before reviews)
- The study materials must be current and relevant to the region.
- Desirable: courses developed for the Moodle platform.
- Desirable: Courses that have already been implemented and have been evaluated or validated by qualified personnel.
- Preference will be given to courses that respond to SEDI priority areas.
- Target audience: They should be courses aimed at professional development.
- Courses with a diversity of resources and materials (videos, infographics, documents, guides, among others) will have preference.
- The courses may be in Spanish or English.
Trajectory. The extensive experience of the PEA attracts all kinds of professionals from the region to its programs every year. Certifying a program in association with the Organization of American States is a quality seal for our academic and institutional partners.
Regional visibility. We are targeting 34 OAS member states with training programs at various levels and modalities. Our programs are recognized in the continent and our partners and allies are always present in our communications, promotional activities and annual reports.
Online education experts. Our interdisciplinary team of instructional designers, thematic experts, web and graphic designers, content managers and communities will be in charge of reviewing the proposed courses and will carry out adjustment or improvement processes for those selected programs. Each course will go through the review of our professionals, will have support for the adaptation of their modules to our platform and will make the integration with the Virtual Classroom of the PEA.
Fase 1: Application period | |
Responsibility of the applicant:
Note that:
| Publication of the call: April 1, 2020
Extended Application submission deadline: May 17, 2020 |
Phase 2: Review and selection of applications | |
| Review period: April 30 to May 31, 2020 |
Phase 3: Signing of agreements | |
| May vary for each institution |
Phase 4: Implementation | |
| El periodo de alistamiento del curso puede variar para cada institución
The enrollment period of the course may vary for each institution July 15, 2020 |
a. Roles and responsibilities
PEA | Participant institution |
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b. Economic sustainability
Citizens of the Americas who wish to take these programs can access discount scholarships for part of the cost of the course. These scholarships are part of our mission to facilitate accessible training options for citizens of the Americas.
Each participant must pay the remaining value for tuition. These revenues are used as follows:
- Payment to virtual tutors (in charge of the PEA)
- Payment of administration and teaching costs PEA (registration, technical, support, financial, among others).
- The remaining value will be shared between the PEA and the institutional partner in equal parts. Once the course is finished and the operating costs have been discounted, the PEA will make a transfer to its partner of the corresponding utility.
It should be noted that any profit that the PEA obtains is reinvested in training programs, teacher training and technological capacity of its programs. We are a non-profit program, whose mission is focused on promoting and extending access to quality education through ICT.
- The courses presented to this call may undergo modifications and adaptations after the review of the interdisciplinary team of the PEA. Participating institutions must be open to the process of adapting each program to the model and technological platform that the organization has. The changes will be made by mutual agreement and with the prior approval of the parties.
- During the validity of the cooperation agreements, the courses must be taught exclusively in the Virtual Classroom of the PEA. The parties will agree on the details of implementation at the time of signing Memorandum of Understanding.
- The cost to the public of the courses in the PEA, as well as the percentage of scholarship-discount will be agreed by the parties at the stage of signing agreements. However, it is important to highlight that the prices and scholarships must respond to the scale stipulated by the PEA and the current costs of the programs that are part of the educational offer.
- The payment to tutors and administration and teaching costs are stipulated for each of the programs. Tutoring fees per week for tutors are in accordance with PEA policies.