The new distance-learning program called EDUCAMEXUS, which educates US Hispanics, including undocumented immigrants, is reported to offer a Bachelor's Degree option this year.
"We are about to reach an agreement so that all the Arizona Latino community, or any other in the US, can be benefited from this university program", Francisco Marmolejo, director of the Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC).
He explained the Engineering BD the EDUCAMEXUS program will include in 2005 at the CONAHEC see in the University of Arizona in Tucson, is an online course designed by the Tecnológico de Durango in Mexico.
This course is part of a five more BD's which will try to incorporate to the EDUCAMEXUS program to be taught in classrooms or online.
He also explained the EDUCAMEXUS program, launched last November as a CONAHEC effort, which compounds 140 universities from Mexico, the U.S. and Canada and the National Association of Universities and Higher Learning Institutions in Mexico (ANUIES).
It is also supported by Mexico's Public Education Secretariat (SEP) and the Foreign Affairs Secretariat throughout the Institute of Mexicans Abroad.
EDUCAMEXUS is an Internet portal (
http://educamexus.org), a free-toll line to which students from anywhere in the U.S. may call to be oriented.
The program also includes courses in Spanish for U.S. Hispanics, including undocumented immigrants, who wish to finish high school, junior high and soon, the university throughout a revalidation program approved by the Mexican government.
Other courses are computing and educational counseling for Hispanics who was to carry on with their studies but have doubts about it.
The cost of the EDUCAMEXUS services are not high and sometimes "symbolic"
"Our aim is extending the EDUCAMEX operational networks so it can become a national program (distance program) for all Latinos in the United States who wants to keep studying", Marmolejo said.
He remembered that nowadays there are 15 higher learning institutions in Mexico supporting EDUCAMEXUS including Mexico0s Autonomous University (UNAM), Universidada Iberoamericana, Instituto Teconologico de Durango and Univerisdada Autonoma de Nuevo Leon.
Other universities inlcude Universidad de San Luis
Potosí, Baja California, Yucatán, Guerrero, Sonora and Sinaloa.
Marmolejo assured the initial response to the program by the Hispanic community in Arizona has been "very positive" and that some 30 people have enrolled in a course to finish high school and junior high.
"These people are taking classes in the Tucson facilities but we hope that,
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