A few years ago Daniel Meza Cortés learned that he could obtain his high school diploma for free, online and in Spanish.
For the immigrant this was very good news since Since he emigrated to the United States 18 years ago, he had hoped that one day he would be able to finish his high school, studies that he left unfinished in Mexico.
“When I went to the book fair, UNAM had a table and there they gave me the information,” said Cortés from 38 years. “They told me that I could coordinate with the school where I studied so that they could send me my documents or I could take an entrance exam and have the option of obtaining a high school diploma.”
Cortés opted for the latter as the first option was very complicated.
Once he passed the admission exam, he began his online classes for the Directorate of Baccalaureate a Distance (DBD), which is part of the Coordination of Open University Educational Innovation and Distance Education of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
On average, Cortés said that it went from 10 to 15 hours a week on the computer doing their assignments for each subject.
“One adjusts to the time, sometimes I would go in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon. It takes a lot of discipline, ”he said.
Cortés, who is married with three daughters, said that initially his daughters were amused that he was studying too much, but over time they began to appreciate the efforts he made to study and work at the same time.
After three years he finished all his classes and finally obtained his diploma, which filled him with happiness.
“I felt very fulfilled because I already brought the pace of study online and that motivated me to continue,” he said.
So much was his motivation that after receiving his high school diploma, Cortés enrolled again at UNAM online to obtain his degree in international relations.
“I believe that it is never too late to finish the unfinished business and now with technology we have to know how to adapt ”, said Cortés.
Requirements to participate
UNAM is about to start the semester of fall to get your high school diploma completely free and in Spanish. All classes are online and are available to all Spanish speakers regardless of nationality.
This baccalaureate, existing since 2007, meets with all the social functions of the educational level of the UNAM; preparation for life, work and higher education, indicates their website.
In addition, they make the most of the online modality to promote meaningful, contextualized and relevant skills and learning in students for today’s world.
Participating students have the benefit of being accompanied by teachers and tutors online. Usually the curriculum map is divided into four semesters with 24 subjects.
The time to study each one of the subjects is five weeks long and students must complete at least 20 hours per week to complete the courses on time. There is no fixed schedule and the student can carry out their work from anywhere that has a computer with internet.
To enter the Baccalaureate it is necessary to take and accredit three preparatory courses. Once accredited, you must take the admission exam to the UNAM and be selected to be enrolled in the program.
Registration starts on 11 August
The Distance High School Directorate will have its pre-registration open from 11 to 30 August. Those interested in participating can fill out the application at http: // 132. 248. 48. 97 / schoolchildren /Registration