Republic Act 10650 or the “Open Distance Learning Act” mandates the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), the fifth constituent university of the UP System, to assist the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in providing support to higher education institutions (HEIs) and post-secondary schools in developing and providing high quality open and distance e-learning programs and courses. In particular, UPOU is expected to “assist other interested educational institutions in developing their ODL programs, courses, and materials for specific learner groups or the public at large” and “help capacitate ODL teachers and practitioners through capacity building and professionalization programs.” UPOU is also expected to help establish ‘zonal ODL centers’ in each region that “shall take charge of the training of teachers of ODL programs.”

UPOU proposes to meet this mandate through its Sustainable Institution Building for Open Learning (SIBOL) program under the European Union-funded “Advancing Equity and Access to Higher Education through Open and Distance Learning” or BUKA project. 

SIBOL aims to build the capacity of selected public higher education institutions (HEIs) in the development and delivery of teacher training programs in online, blended, or remote learning, and to build a network of such institutions that shall form the core of zonal ODL centers in the Philippines. Specifically, through SIBOL, UPOU shall provide mentoring and technical assistance to qualified participating institutions in the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of their proposed training program in online, blended, or remote learning. Participating institutions are expected to propose a training program in online, blended, or remote learning intended for delivery in 2022 as a public service¹ to a specific group or groups of teachers or trainers in a particular area or region, in response to a well-defined need. 

Institutions that are interested in participating in the SIBOL project are invited to submit proposals under this call.

_____________

¹  _{This means that the participating institution shall not charge or collect fees from participants in these training programs.}

1. This call is open to public higher education institutions (state colleges and universities).
2. Eligible educational institutions must comply with the following requirements:

• a) The institution must be duly accredited by CHED. 
• b) A legally designated representative of the institution must sign a formal agreement with the UP Open University, should the proposal be selected. The proponent must present a duly signed authorization from the institution’s governing board (i.e., Board of Trustees, Board of Regents).
• c) The institution must have a track record or experience in the conduct of training courses or programs for academics, school teachers, or trainers from outside of their own organization. To this end, proponents must provide a descriptive list of previous or ongoing projects, and the names of three persons who can provide references about the institution or organization’s performance in these projects. 
• d) The institution must have the human, technical, and financial resources necessary to undertake their proposed training program in online and blended learning, as evidenced by the designation of a project coordinator and support unit within the institution and indication of the funding source, among others.

Proponents should submit a proposal for a training program in online, blended, or remote learning for teachers or trainers in a partner institution or organization. 

Partner institutions or organizations can be another college or university or a group of colleges or universities, schools in a particular Department of Education Schools Division, and/or technical vocational institutes. 

The training program may focus on specific aspects of online, blended, or remote teaching and learning, such as multimedia materials/modules development, course design, assessment, student support, and program management.

The training program should be designed for an online or blended mode of delivery. 

Examples of training programs that may be proposed for this call include blended or online training for:

•  faculty of a college or university (which can be in a specific discipline like Nursing or Medicine)
•  senior high school teachers
•  alternative education teachers or coordinators

UPOU will provide the following to participating institutions (i.e. institutions whose proposals are accepted):

Mentoring. UPOU will provide seminar-workshops on program or course design, multimedia materials development, learner support, program management, and quality assurance in online and blended learning customized to the needs of the participating institutions based on their proposed training program. 

Monitoring and feedback. UPOU will monitor the implementation of the participating institution’s proposed training program and provide feedback and advice on how to address challenges encountered.

Technical assistance. UPOU will provide technical expertise to assist the participating institutions in online or blended learning technology selection, setting up, and maintenance.

Networking. UPOU will organize network seminars and events to enable participating institutions to share knowledge and experiences for cross-fertilization of ideas and to foster collaboration between and among participating institutions. 

1. Call for proposals
•  The period for this call is June to July 2021. Proposals should be submitted by 31 July 2021.
•  An online (via Zoom) orientation meeting with institutions that are interested in submitting proposals will be held on 24 June 2021.

2. Eligibility check
•  Applications received will be reviewed for compliance with the eligibility requirements (see section on Eligibility Requirements).

3. Technical quality review
•  The SIBOL team will assess the technical quality of each application based on the selection criteria (see section on Selection Criteria).
•  Online interviews and focused group discussions will be scheduled with eligible applicants to clarify points related to their proposals.
•  Proponents may be requested to refine/revise their proposal based on the results of the interviews and discussions.
•  The final list of selected proposals based on the evaluation will be drawn up by 30 September 2021.

4. Processing of approved proposals
•  The SIBOL team will notify selected participating institutions by email.
•  A kickoff meeting will be held with all selected participating institutions.
•  The SIBOL team will prepare a memorandum of agreement with each participating institution to be signed by duly designated representatives of UPOU and participating institutions.

Interested institutions should accomplish the application form and submit it with all attachments on or before 31 July 2021. The application form features three sections, as seen below.

1. Proposal Basic Information
•  Proposal title
•  Name and address of proponent organization/institution
•  Contact information
•  Date of implementation
•  Project status (ongoing or new)
•  Proposal summary

2. Main Proposal
•  Background and rationale
•  Target participants
•  Objectives
•  Methodology (approach, matrix of activities/action plan, monitoring evaluation plan)

3. Resources
•  Coordinating unit
•  Project team
•  Funding
•  Technical resources
•  Partnerships
•  Track record
•  References
•  Institutional letters of support

You may read more about the details under each section in this offline version (in PDF) before submitting your online application.