ASU, UA students win Teamwork Technology Awards

July 24, 2012

Students from more than 15 colleges and departments at Arizona State University and the University of Arizona proposed new ways to use technology to teach teamwork and collaboration skills for students in health professions majors including nursing, medicine, pharmacy, and social work.

Two awards of $2,000 each were offered at each university as part of a Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation initiative to develop a new interprofessional curriculum in primary care. Funds for the awards were provided by the ASU College of Nursing and Health Innovation and the UA Arizona Telemedicine Program in Tucson and its T-Health Institute in Phoenix. Andrea Martinez and Chelsey Heath from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism Download Full Image

Challenged to provide faculty with more effective ways to prepare health professions students to work together in clinical practice, students submitted entries that used a broad array of available technologies and social networks including smartphones, wikis, Facebook, and video games.

The ASU recipients of the Teamwork Technology Challenge Awards are:

Andrea Martinez and Chelsey Heath from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication for their "Technology in Diabetes Life-style Classes" proposal.
Benjamin Bishop from the College of Nursing and Health Innovation’s program in Regulatory Science and Health Safety for The Advanced Clinical Experience (ACE) Module proposal.

The award winners for the Teamwork Technology Challenge at UA are:

Natasha Bhuyan, UA College of Medicine, Laurel Cox, UA College of Medicine, Robert Portley, UA Eller College of Management and UA College of Medicine for their proposal: Combining Videoconferencing and Case-Based Learning in a Synchronous Environment.
Tessa Hamilton, from UA’s College of Science, Department of Psychology for her proposal, The Social (Health care) Network: Increasing Patient-Practitioner Interaction Skills through the Use of Facebook.

Students indicated that they were motivated to apply for the Teamwork Technology Challenge to test their ability to work across professional boundaries. ASU Cronkite students Andrea Martinez and Chelsey Health said, “As journalism students, we often talk about merging our communication skills with our health care interests. It was great to diversify our skills and develop new ideas."

Winning applicants also were motivated to try out new ideas to improve education for future students. Ben Bishop, a University of Arizona PharmD student who just completed a master’s degree in Regulatory Science and Health Safety at the College of Nursing and Health Innovation said, “This was an ideal vehicle for me to tap into my creative side. I think that my idea will enhance interprofessional education and the individual students’ experience.”

About ASU College of Nursing and Health Innovation

The College of Nursing and Health Innovation at ASU emphasizes innovative approaches to health and health care. Its academic programs, including the Ph.D. in Nursing and Health Innovation and the Master of Healthcare Innovation, are committed to advancing interprofessional practice and research.

It has 9565 alumni and its graduate program is ranked 21st or in the top 4 percent among colleges of nursing in the 2012 Best Graduate Schools published by U.S. News & World Report.

About UA Arizona Telemedicine Program

Established in 1996, the Arizona Telemedicine Program (ATP) offers a variety of services and educational programs. ATP developed and operates a state-wide broadband telecommunication network extending to 55 healthcare organization at over 170 sites. More than 60 subspecialty clinical services have been provided over the network, with more than one million consultations. In addition to patient services, ATP provides over 200 continuing education (CME/CE) programs annually. For more information about the Arizona Telemedicine Program visit www.telemedicine.arizona.edu.

Obama administration releases financial aid Shopping Sheet

The new standard financial aid letter that ASU helped produce gives students a clearer understanding of their college costs.

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Obama administration releases financial aid Shopping Sheet

July 24, 2012

ASU President Michael Crow and ASU have been part of the consulting group and among the first set of universities to move forward as leaders in this effort

Earlier this year, at the University of Michigan, President Barack Obama outlined the steps that his administration is taking to make college more affordable and to ensure that students “know before they owe.” Download Full Image

Today, as part of that ongoing effort, the administration unveiled the final version of the model financial aid award letter, or “Shopping Sheet” – an individualized standard financial aid letter that will help students understand their costs before making the final decision on where to enroll. The shopping sheet will allow students to easily compare aid packages offered by different institutions. To develop the Shopping Sheet, the U.S. Department of Education partnered with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a new independent agency established in the wake of the financial crisis.

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To view the Shopping Sheet, click the "Recommended Link" in the sidebar.
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ASU President Michael Crow and ASU have been part of the consulting group and among the first set of universities to move forward as leaders in this effort.

Too often, students and families face the daunting task of deciding where to enroll, whether to write a check, or whether to sign for a student loan, without a clear explanation of what the costs mean, or how these costs compare to other colleges they are considering. As a result, too many students leave college with debt that they didn’t understand at the time that they entered school.

While many financial aid award letters provide this information, some can be confusing, lacking clear distinctions between grants and loans, as well as information about post-graduate outcomes associated with the institution. These obscurities make the task of comparison-shopping for the most affordable and appropriate college even more difficult.

The Shopping Sheet makes clear the costs and responsibilities of student loans upfront – before students have enrolled – outlining their total estimated annual costs, institutional rates of completion and default, and information about a student’s potential monthly loan payments after graduation. Ultimately, this tool provides students and their families with useful information that can help them make a more informed decision about where to attend college and to help them better understand the debt burdens that may be face after graduation.

Secretary Duncan today will publish an open letter to college and university presidents, asking them to adopt the Shopping Sheet as part of their financial aid awards starting in the 2013-14 school year. Additionally, colleges who agree to the Principles of Excellence for Serving Military and Veterans will begin using this form during the 2013-14 school year. Institutions of higher education interested in adopting the Shopping Sheet may contact the Department of Education at ShoppingSheet@ed.gov for additional information.

While states and colleges share responsibility to keep down the rising cost of college, improved consumer disclosures can ensure that students and families make wise decisions when investing in higher education. Learn more about President Obama’s comprehensive proposal to make college more affordable.