Outreach Highlights

Program Innovation Funding Boosts Outreach Scholarship

From public health and behavioral sciences to Jazz in July, and from Islamic studies to the professional development of municipal officials, five new program proposals will receive as much as $20,000 in development money in the second round of Program Innovation Fund (PIF) grants awarded by UMass Amherst Outreach. A total of $85,000 will be dedicated toward new program development during this PIF cycle.

Outreach Vice Provost Sharon L. Fross said that the five were chosen from among nine proposals submitted under the program established last year to support development of new programs in academic outreach. The grants are intended to help underwrite initial planning, market research, and design for new academic programs aimed at adult learners and other off-campus constituents and are offered through Outreach programs such as Continuing & Professional Education, University Without Walls, UMass Extension, the Arts Extension Service, WFCR, and Workforce Development.

“We were pleased to have received such outstanding and well-developed proposals,” said Fross. “These submissions represent the significant opportunities that exist for UMass Amherst to serve our community, the commonwealth and beyond.”

At the same time, Vice Provost Fross issued a call for a third round of Program Innovation Fund proposals. The deadline for proposals is March 30, 2007, and awards are scheduled to be made by the beginning of May 2007.

The following are the proposals funded under the current round of UMass Amherst Outreach Program Innovation Fund awards.

• Summer 2007 course offerings from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences will receive a grant to underwrite faculty efforts to convert existing general education courses to on-line formats. These courses will be available to campus-based students living elsewhere for the summer and to adult learners who find it more convenient to take these courses. The goal is to develop 20 online general education courses over the next several years.
• A nutrition emphasis will be added to the on-line Masters in Public Health degree with the help of a grant for market research and on-line course development. The School of Public Health and Health Sciences currently offers an MPH in Nutrition degree aimed at working professionals, but the number of adult students who are able to attend the on-campus program is limited. The PIF grant will help the department develop a self-sustaining on-line program that meets the needs of nutrition and health professionals worldwide.
• The design for a Graduate Certificate Program in Islamic Studies will be the focus of the program innovation grant awarded to the UMass Amherst Graduate School. The certificate program will attract both degree and non-degree students, will complement a participant’s major discipline or area of study, and will allow students to acquire specialized knowledge of Islam. The certificate program will be aligned with the proposed UMass Amherst Institute for the Study of Islamic Cultures and Languages.
• Volunteer, part time and first time municipal officials throughout the Commonwealth will have access to a comprehensive multi-media training program under the UMass Extension proposal receiving a program innovation grant. High turnover and limited educational opportunities often undermine the effectiveness of municipal boards. Members are often called upon to address increasingly complex planning issues and regulations, according to Scott Jackson of Extension’s Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation program. Building on the work of Extension’s Citizen Planner Training Collaborative, the new program will encompass a strategic mix of educational technologies, including interactive DVDs and online courses to help boards master important material.
• A Big Band, or large jazz ensemble, component will be added to the Jazz in July Summer Music Program under a proposal by the UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center, in conjunction with the Arts Extension Service and Continuing and Professional Education. For 25 years, Jazz in July has been teaching jazz improvisation to students of all ages from around the world and at various stages of training and musical background. The new dimension to this longstanding and successful summer program is expected to help the program engage a significantly larger external constituency.

In June, as part of its inaugural round of funding, the UMass Amherst Outreach Program Innovation Fund awarded a total of $80,000 toward the development of four new academic programs to support and strengthen the university’s Outreach mission. With the assistance of those grants, market research and program development are continuing for the Online Certificate in Science and Health Reporting, the Continuing and Executive Education in Sport Management Program, the Northwest China Educational Leadership Program, and the Doctorate of Nursing Practice Degree program.