Project Title:
A'oa'oga Aso Nei Initiative, American Samoa Community College
Funding Program:
Connecting Minority Communities Program
Project Purpose/Type:
The American Samoa Community College (ASCC) Aʻoaʻoga Aso Nei Initiative will significantly modernize the bandwidth, technology tools, and curricula offered at ASCC. Aʻoaʻoga Aso Nei, a Samoan phrase that translates roughly to the English “Education of Today,” aims to make remote learning a way of life in American Samoa, to transform the local economy, and to preserve the Samoan culture.
City/Town/Service Area:
State(s):
-
$2,994,869.00Funding Amount$2,994,869.00Total Project Cost0.00Non-Federal Cost Share
The campus connection to the internet will be upgraded to a Gigabit-speed connection. An equipment lending program will be set up for all students who cannot afford laptops or home connections to the internet. A curriculum modernization project will deliver both a plan for the coming decade as well as a working pilot adding Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and/or computer science classes for both postsecondary and adult learners, leveraging the college’s new capabilities to get students online and connected to the outside world. Training will be provided to existing ASCC Information Technology Staff to better support and improve educational service delivery in the context of a significantly altered technical environment delivered by the A’oa’oga Aso Nei Initiative.
The project will position American Samoa Community College with more modern network technology, vastly improved digital equity and access for its students, and transform its curriculum to provide its learners with the tools they need to compete and thrive in a modern global economy. This project is critical to the development of a more modern American Samoa, helping to maintain its population and to preserve a rich culture that should rightfully be a source of pride for Samoan people as well as all the people of the United States.
The A’oa’oga Aso Nei Initiative will benefit college students as well as adult learners in American Samoa. American Samoa Community College is a central pillar of community education in the community, and its programs will include new opportunities for adult learners who wish to transition careers while staying home in the territory. Most American Samoa residents cannot currently afford broadband or computer technology.
The recipient does not intend to subaward funds.
The applicant does not fund a consortia. The applicant’s activities do not occur in the surrounding anchor communities.