Funding, Grants & Awards

WCET Selects WOW Winners

• By Michael Hart
• 09/01/15

The WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) has presented its annual WOW Awards to four institutions that are implementing exceptionally creative, technology-based solutions to challenges in higher education.

This year's awards have gone to projects that involve everything from virtual reality to math readiness and the use of open-source materials.

The winning institutions are:

• Boise State University, for its virtual reality nursing simulation that allows students to practice sterile procedures in a digital gaming environment;
• The NROC Project's EdReady online college math readiness system helps students hone their math skills without having to take remediation courses;
• The University of Central Florida's Direct Connect to UCF Pathway is an academic support tool designed to help transfer students planning to attend UCF; and
• The University of Maryland University College's open educational resources (OER) initiative has enhanced the use of OER materials in more than 700 undergraduate courses at the university.

"These four award recipients represent creative innovation, hard work and deep commitment to students and their success in higher education," said Janet Atkinson, director of the Boise State University eCampus Center and chair of the WOW Award committee.

WCET, a division of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, each year presents its WOW award to colleges, universities and organizations that are trying out "exceptionally creative, technology-based solutions" in response to challenges in higher education.

The four winners were picked from 38 projects that were submitted to the awards program. The winners will be recognized during the WCET Annual Meeting in Denver November 11-13.