Prepanet Monterrey Online Education

High school desertion rates in Mexico are high due to few opportunities to attend due to the diverse situations of the students at this educational level. This leads to unfinished studies and a lack of opportunities for personal and career development. As the current average school degree in the country is 9.7 years (late middle school), Prepanet Monterrey looks forward to providing a unique online high school program. We use the peer learning model through qualified college students to promote quality education and allow everyone to continue their studies through an accessible and flexible program. During the 4 years of Prepanet Monterrey, a positive impact has been observed on the community. Graduate students have been able to continue their students and improve their employment situations. Implementing the program in communities worldwide enables students from any place to have a chance to consolidate better life stories and access quality education.

Prepanet Monterrey aims to reduce the lack of opportunities that Mexicans have to pursue a high school education due to the impossibility to attend a traditional high school model. In the year 2020, the scholarship level in the state of Nuevo León (where the program takes place) was 10.7 (first year of high school), while the nationwide index was below that according to the INEGI(Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geográfia). Similarly, last year the United Nations published a report that even with the rapid change due to the pandemic more than 500 million students around the world were not able to use the remote learning approach.

Prepanet Monterrey seeks to use existing technology platforms to enable an online collaborative and interactive model through holistic projects and remote tutoring. Additionally, the students have access to notes and exercises in a platform to allow a self-paced/self-taught model. Still, constant interaction with the students is encouraged to nurture a safe environment in which collaborative learning is achieved.  Finally, a counselor is assigned to each student who helps them to take care not only of their academic development but also of their personal ones.

Our solution is a social program online high school where college students participate by meeting the educational needs of people that haven’t completed or are unable to perform their high school studies in the traditional education schemes due to different circumstances.

Prepanet Monterrey is characterized by a student-centered learning environment with a curricular model oriented to develop generic and disciplinary skills, has a technological platform that supports the educative contents, activity deliveries, and exam submissions. It also has a follow-up, guidance, and academic advice given by the academic team.

Our program is distinguished by: 

1. Offering remote education using online resources
2. Having a constructivist approach that facilitates significant learning. 
3. Promoting self-management of learning.
4. Having a curriculum aimed at developing skills in computer technology.
5. Having scenarios to connect with the world and its community

By using the Canvas platform, the students have access to all the contents of their courses. Similarly, most of this content can be download on either any device (computer or tablet) or through their phones by using Canvas’ app to have available the resources, courses, and activities. This allows students higher degrees of flexibility to further pursue other activities on their own time.

Adults and young people with no viable access to a traditional high school model, which have limited economic resources or vulnerability, added with work or familiar commitments, geographical distance, or different capacities, thus contributing to the improvement of their quality of life, the reduction of social inequality and educational backwardness in Mexico.

The student is at the center of the program. Due to this, the program generates all the necessary materials and resources by having considered the final user and its context to promote flexibility, use of technology, self-management, organization, and responsibility. All of this also considers the various situations that can affect directly or indirectly the successful completion of the student’s studies.

 Prepanet Monterrey’s team takes care of the communication and monitors the program participants' requirements, requests, and needs. Through continuous feedback, projects are generated and implemented focused on the personal and professional growth of the students. 

Furthermore, the development of skills and abilities that pose an additional value for the alumni and positively impact their communities is encouraged.

The impact and commitment from the students are reflected by:

• Promoting the human, social, cultural, and economic development of their communities.
• Being able to access new or better employment opportunities.
• Continuing their education to pursue a technical or college education.
• Being identified as role models in their families and communities that motivate and inspire those closest to them.

Prepanet Monterrey’s model encourages an online learning environment where the student is at its center. The materials, resources, and platform offer the students tools such as flexibility, develop self-management, organization, and commitment to providing them with the necessary skills to enable them to face a challenging social and labor environment. Students work jointly with a team of Coordinators, Tutors, and Counselors who provide feedback and advise them to ensure their adaptation, endurance, and ending of the studies in the program.

Prepanet Monterrey focuses its work on the metropolitan area of Monterrey, as well as in the communities of Nuevo Leon and the surrounding states with a population of 110 - 130 students per four-month academic period.

There is a work team of between 70 - 80 people each academic period. The program has a high request of participation by volunteers, ex-team members, and university students. Therefore, as the program grows, it has the ability to serve and impact more people.

Prepanet Monterrey’s program works as a platform that encourages the continuation of studies online. It is aimed at different audiences and age ranges that wish to advance with their high school education. We offer the use of technological tools accessible to all participants and a flexible model that is constantly improving considering the environment and needs of our public. Thus, our program acts as a great response to mitigate the impact that COVID-19 has had on education. 

An additional value that the program provides is the collaboration between the members of the program's community (students, tutors, counselors, and coordinators). The academic team is conformed by an everchanging multidisciplinary team that rotates every 4 months. This allows the program to tackle new challenges each period by implementing projects focused on the holistic development of our students. By doing this, we ensure that a valuable learning curve is generated for all participants, where the development of both human sense and transversal competencies in ethics and citizenship are achieved.

We want to develop agents of change with our academic team by putting personal talent and professional excellence at the service of our students and people, aware that their actions can support the transformation of others and thus help them achieve better life stories.

Finally, we wish to reinforce the social responsibility that enterprises, institutions, and organizations have to facilitate the training of their employees that do not have a high school education and help to approach new opportunities to these employees with our program.

Current people serving: 110 – 130 students per academic period. In the actual academic period of May-August 2021, there are 122 students.

People Serving in one year: 200 - 360 students per year.

People Serving in five years: 900 - 1800 students estimated in five years.

 Indicators used to measure program progress:

• Graduated alumni per quarter

• Approval & Failure per period

• Partial and complete drop-out submissions

• Forecast and number of graduates per year

• Incoming students per period

• First-year student’s retention

• Terminal efficiency 

Prepanet Monterrey is a social program that forms part of a larger organization, this being Tec de Monterrey. The larger organization is based on a non-profit approach, committed to the quality of higher education in the country.

Where the institution developed the curriculum, course materials, and the basis for operating through the CANVAS platform for students. Likewise, this supports the academic quality and validates the program before the official instances.

Full-time staff: 2 people (Coordinator of Prepanet Monterrey and Academic Administrator of Prepanet Monterrey)

Part-time staff: 5 undergraduate students (interns)

Social Service College Students: 70 – 100 people per academic period (+50% of these students had already participated in past periods) 

Volunteers: 5 - 10 per academic period

The team is made up of people passionate about education, interested in making an impact in this area. Through this, Prepanet Monterrey’s team becomes a pillar to make a positive change in its immediate community, our country, and the world. Thus promoting social mobility and the development of more opportunities at all levels.

During the last 4 years, a multidisciplinary team had been created and established, this team is not only compromised with continuing the program but also searching to improve it to develop better educational experiences.

The students that participate as interns and coordinators are key figures in the program thanks to their actions and contributions as role models for the rest of the tutors/counselors. This select group has at least 1 year of experience collaborating with Prepanet, and they are continuously creating new strategies with their teams. Later on, these good practices are shared with the rest of the team, this helps to motivate and encourage collaboration with other academic members of the program.

All the team is trained and has the required skills that are used during their participation in Prepanet Monterrey. This is further strengthened by the mentoring provided by the administrative and coordinative teams to solve doubts and give support to any situation that arises. Finally, all the college students can select the area in which they wish to collaborate, further providing a personalized experience according to their interests (tutoring or counseling). 

The team is made up of a multifaceted group made up of both college students and prepared professionals from different areas and profiles. Their diverse experiences are a product of them coming from different parts of Mexico and the world. All this variety in the team, allows diversity, equity, and inclusion to rise inside the program. This allows Prepanet Monterrey to be a home of inclusive leadership both inside the team and with the students. 

The set of values that are transmitted in the program are an important factor to build and consolidate the desired atmosphere:

• Empathy: be open to meet and understand the other.

• Teamwork: we are a team that supports each other in case there are doubts, situations, or cases that need to be solved. 

• Commitment: acknowledge the impact of our participation as a key part of the teaching-learning process of the students.

• Responsibility: all the actions, both the ones that we do and the ones we don’t, have effects on all the participants in the program.
  

• Unity: our actions, ideas, and energy are joined to create better life stories, push education forward and reduce the educational backwardness in Mexico.

• Order: achieve a balance in the organization of time and activities during the participant's time in the program.
  

Finally, we are aware that there is no single way to achieve our mission with Prepanet Monterrey’s students. Nevertheless, we believe that this set of values are guidelines to be able to reach our objective to create better life stories.

By applying to Solve, we are aiming to broaden the impact and reach of Prepanet Monterrey by having the opportunity: 

• Create a collaboration network with other programs, experts, and projects both from MIT and worldwide initiatives. 

• Find new partnership opportunities with different enterprises, universities, NGOs, and the team of Solve/MIT to develop projects that are impactful in the different educative levels and can connect to other causes and sustainable development objectives.

• Achieve the mentorship and training of different experts that improve the implementation, impact, and reach of the program along with its areas of opportunity.

• Broaden the exposure of the program by applying to Solve and reach different participants/audiences for future alliances and collaborations. 

• Explore options for the implementation of the program outside Mexico and requirements to make it possible. 

• Use the funding, grants, and investments achieved to:

  • Implement internal projects that improve the experience of the participants, along with gathering the necessary materials for them. 

  • Promote the scholarship program for Prepanet’s students.

  • Bring the resources closer to the students that do not have access to them. 

  • Push forward the marketing and publicity of the program to broaden its reach with different audiences and reach its target audience.

Through having support in the areas of human capital, financial, public relations, and product/service distribution, the areas of opportunity that we identify internally that the program has would be strengthened, so that it would be possible to address the previously identified barriers and promote the scope of the program by:

- Develop and improve training - selection of human capital

- Establish and implement a pitch to attract new collaborations or allies to the program

- Improve the branding and marketing strategy of the program in different channels and audiences

- Bring the program closer to more people so that they have the opportunity to study high school by not being able to attend a traditional model

We would like to partner with MIT and Solve Members to forge collaborations and alliances such as the “Beautiful Patterns” program, which encourages young women to continue their studies and preparation in STEM themes. Furthermore, we want to continue participating in projects that involve audiences of different ages that bring new chances and high-impact opportunities to communities around the world.

Other potential partners are enterprises and technological projects focused on the implementation of new technologies and/or strategies in the educational area (such as Google or Zoom). With this, we look to achieve the continuation of educative projects and the engagement of the students in the courses. 

Additionally, we wish to collaborate with other Solver teams in a local initial stage in order to strengthen and connect our initiatives with current and developing projects. In a second phase, we want to connect with other regional/continental proposals to accelerate the implementation and goals of the projects in accordance with the metrics of the SDGs. Finally, the final level of collaboration will be achieved by giving feedback to the projects of the different challenges and joining our efforts to stimulate the continuous development of everyone. 

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