A $102 million federal grant to greatly expand broadband internet access will eventually bring opportunities and possibilities for economic growth that University of Arkansas Community College at Hope Chancellor Chris Thomason said are “exciting and unknown” at this time.
“The truth is that the full benefits of this expansion will not be known for time to come because we simply can't imagine all the opportunities it is going to provide in the future,” Thomason said.
Forty-one million dollars of the grant will expand the Arkansas Research and Educational Optical Network (AREON) to the 22 public-two year colleges in Arkansas. The network will improve the colleges' ability to deliver distance learning and many other possibilities. Thomason says that the impact just cannot be known at this time. “It is extremely exciting, not just for for all the two year colleges, but for UACCH in particular. It will allow us to connect onto AREON, that currently serves only four-year institutions,” Thomason said. “What is so exciting about that is that it gives us a platform to better serve our students and the type of students we have.
“Distance education is extremely important and the increase in opportunities to provide it is extremely important to serving the needs of rural Arkansas, which everyone knows is the primary service area for UACCH,” Thomason said.
Director of Telecommunications for UACCH Dave Phillips said the grant was part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and the primary grant writers were the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.
“What they were looking to do was expand telehealth networks within Arkansas. They wanted to expand remote video conferences with a specialists at UAMS. They could reach a rural town where a specialist may not be available,” Phillips said.
When a patient is evaluated the tele-medicine program makes it possible for a patient in his or her own doctor's office to visit with a specialist through an online video-link in which test results can be sent quickly electronically, according to Phillips.
That may save time and expense in the area of repeat testing if a patient is, or needs to be hospitalized.
He said the idea of bioterriosm was also addressed in the grant.
“What happens if a big train spilled over and nasty chemicals were spreading across Hope? They need communication, data, and information so at some point this would be tying into our emergency response network for our city to receive expert guidance and information from anywhere in the U.S.,” Philips said.
Health-related issues are a “huge chunk of the grant funds” according to Phillips, but in relation to education Thomason said the grant award is “major.”
“It will allow us to collaborate with other regional institutions more effectively and in delivering expanded educational opportunities to our students without requiring them to leave the area. That is extremely important considering the number of students we have that are place bound,” Thomason said.
He said another major aspect is how the high speed and band width capabilities will be affected with fast, clear internet video and downloading abilities.
“I believe the opportunities are limitless for us to help serve our businesses and industrial partners in the area. That is exciting for us because that is an area UACCH is concentrating our efforts on, expanding the depth and the benefits from our relationship with the area and our industrial partners,” Thomason said.
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A $102 million federal grant to greatly expand broadband internet access will eventually bring opportunities and possibilities for economic growth that University of Arkansas Community College at Hope Chancellor Chris Thomason said are “exciting and unknown” at this time.
“The truth is that the full benefits of this expansion will not be known for time to come because we simply can't imagine all the opportunities it is going to provide in the future,” Thomason said.
Forty-one million dollars of the grant will expand the Arkansas Research and Educational Optical Network (AREON) to the 22 public-two year colleges in Arkansas. The network will improve the colleges' ability to deliver distance learning and many other possibilities. Thomason says that the impact just cannot be known at this time. “It is extremely exciting, not just for for all the two year colleges, but for UACCH in particular. It will allow us to connect onto AREON, that currently serves only four-year institutions,” Thomason said. “What is so exciting about that is that it gives us a platform to better serve our students and the type of students we have.
“Distance education is extremely important and the increase in opportunities to provide it is extremely important to serving the needs of rural Arkansas, which everyone knows is the primary service area for UACCH,” Thomason said.
Director of Telecommunications for UACCH Dave Phillips said the grant was part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and the primary grant writers were the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.
“What they were looking to do was expand telehealth networks within Arkansas. They wanted to expand remote video conferences with a specialists at UAMS. They could reach a rural town where a specialist may not be available,” Phillips said.
When a patient is evaluated the tele-medicine program makes it possible for a patient in his or her own doctor's office to visit with a specialist through an online video-link in which test results can be sent quickly electronically, according to Phillips.
That may save time and expense in the area of repeat testing if a patient is, or needs to be hospitalized.
He said the idea of bioterriosm was also addressed in the grant.
“What happens if a big train spilled over and nasty chemicals were spreading across Hope? They need communication, data, and information so at some point this would be tying into our emergency response network for our city to receive expert guidance and information from anywhere in the U.S.,” Philips said.
Health-related issues are a “huge chunk of the grant funds” according to Phillips, but in relation to education Thomason said the grant award is “major.”
“It will allow us to collaborate with other regional institutions more effectively and in delivering expanded educational opportunities to our students without requiring them to leave the area. That is extremely important considering the number of students we have that are place bound,” Thomason said.
He said another major aspect is how the high speed and band width capabilities will be affected with fast, clear internet video and downloading abilities.
“I believe the opportunities are limitless for us to help serve our businesses and industrial partners in the area. That is exciting for us because that is an area UACCH is concentrating our efforts on, expanding the depth and the benefits from our relationship with the area and our industrial partners,” Thomason said.
