BGSU IDEAL coordinates national collaborative project to aid Hurricane Katrina students.
Bowling Green State University is involved in a unique effort to assist college students impacted by Hurricane Katrina through a collaborative national initiative. Funded by the Sloan Foundation, and in cooperation with the Sloan Consortium and the Southern Regional Education Board, a project is underway to allow institutions to offer free online courses to students whose education has been disrupted due to the hurricane.

IDEAL will be organizing this effort for BGSU. Participating institutions will not charge tuition and fees to the students. BGSU will be reimbursed through a grant by the Sloan Foundation and the money will go directly to the faculty member who teaches the online course.

It is estimated that as many as 175,000 students are not currently able to continue their studies at institutions in southern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. These students need our assistance to continue their education. Through this project, online courses offered for an accelerated term to begin on or after October 10, 2005 and end on or before January 6, 2006, will allow these students to continue their education in this time of great need.

This project is currently in progress and information will be posted on the IDEAL web site at http://ideal.bgsu.edu as it develops. Details about the project can also be found at: http://www.sloansemester.org.