Texas Tech's campus at Fredericksburg received a $281,500 grant to purchase telecommunications equipment for the new Hill Country University Center.
The Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program awarded the school with the grant so it could put video conference rooms in the new university center, according to a university news release.
"The purpose of the grant is to reach more people in rural settings," said James Morris, director of Tech's Fredericksburg site. "We asked for monies so we could purchase equipment for interactive video conferencing classes."
The interactive video conference classes will give students in rural areas a chance to connect with professors at major universities such as Tech, Morris said.
All of the video conference classes will be located in the new Hill Country University Center, Morris said. The university center is a new 25,000-square-foot classroom facility that is located on the eastern side of Fredericksburg.
The university center will house Tech's site at Fredericksburg, as well as four other university programs, Morris said. Austin Community College, Angelo State University, Concordia University and Schreiner University all will offer courses at this location.
Tech's partnership with the four other colleges brings a number of different programs to one place, Morris said. Students will be able to work on degrees in a variety of fields, and will have an opportunity to take classes from a variety of schools.
"The neat thing about these kinds of arrangements is one school doesn't have to bring everything to the table," he said. "You get different commitments from different universities."
Even though the university center will house five different programs, Tech will be the lead or anchor university at the location, Morris said.
Students will be able to take undergraduate and graduate coursework at the university center, Morris said. Majors will be offered in a variety of fields ranging from general studies to teaching.
This center also should help Tech in its push for 40,000 students, Morris said. They are expecting more than 500 students to be enrolled at the university center when it opens.
Construction for the university center has begun, he said, and it should be completed and open for class by the fall 2010 semester.
Be the first to comment on this article!