Models of Community-Based Learning Centers

Information for community development leaders

". . . developing community-based learning centers with the goal of fostering life-long learning."

Twenty-first century Indiana brings interest in developing community learning centers where education can reach all. To fuel growing expectations, local and regional leaders are coming together to plan how wider educational opportunities can enrich the state. This activity allows Indiana citizens greater learning opportunities in areas that build economic and technological creativity and independence throughout the state.

In a world where workers are expected to change positions at least seven times in their work life and nontraditional students turn to neighborhood campuses for additional education to begin new careers or retrain to adapt to change, the need for accessible and convenient learning opportunities continues to overwhelm expectations. The dynamics, however, are different because students have more specific goals for training. Students want, in addition to traditional general education courses, specific skills that are immediately marketable. One of the fastest growing markets for two-year technical degrees is among learners with four-year degrees who have watched others with more specific training find immediate work in technical fields.

Given a template for planning, the Learning Center model and several years' experience of watching learning centers adapt to their communities' needs offer a dynamic record of the Model's effectiveness. As more communities flesh out the Model to meet the needs of specific industries, new populations, sudden growth, or particular issues to be resolved, expect these pages to feature more specific descriptions of learning centers created or in transition. The following information describes how the process of developing learning centers in Indiana stands in the spring of 2000. You may wish to bookmark these pages for future visits because information will continue to be added as these educational centers adapt to the needs of the learners who use their facilities and services.

Using the ICN Learning Center model

In the middle 1990s, a Learning Center model was developed by Indiana's colleges and universities. The model describes how learning centers provide multipurpose settings, tailored to particular communities to support learners directly and to engage the community in using the academic, economic, and social benefits of continuing education. (A description of this model is available in the Learning Center coordinators handbook.) At this time, most ICN Learning Centers are still located on college and university campuses, but are also found in public high schools, vocational schools, public libraries, university centers where multiple institutions share space, and community centers.

The network began with 40 centers and now grows each semester as new counties are added to the list. A county map of Indiana shows 42 counties with Learning Centers (some counties have more than one center) reaching a spring 2001 total of 63 centers. Thus, there exists a reservoir of experience about developing learning centers with the goal of bringing life-long learning to many different locations in Indiana.

Moving beyond the old perceptions of higher education's roles

Indiana is expanding its ideas of who can be served at an area learning center. A few community education programs operating in larger cities include evening classes for elementary and high school students as well as learning opportunities for other age groups, programs where the extended family can spend an evening at school and share the experience. In Marion County, Lawrence Township Public Schools and the Washington Township School District offer examples of community programs that use school facilities in creative ways to serve the whole population of the district. Lawrence Township hosts offices and classrooms for on-site classes from Ball State, Vincennes, Ivy Tech Indianapolis, IUPUI, and Anderson University to further enrich its educational opportunities each evening. Ball State's satellite video site allows a broad range of distance education classes to this mix. The growing dialog among public schools and higher education institutions to meet the needs of the populous northeast corner of the county illustrates how these partnerships can benefit whole communities.

Such community-based programs are well-established at larger, urban schools, but rural communities can also offer similar programs. The addition of connection to the statewide telecommunication network allows smaller schools to share resources with larger schools, increasing the overall quality of programs in both areas.

Many Indiana communities understand that universities and colleges are excellent neighbors, providing college degrees in helpful two- and four-year programs. Some regions of the state would like a campus of buildings nearby for area residents and for businesses looking for a region to expand their business. Distance education, however, and the institutional impact of a wider variety of students, the lifelong learners, have produced exponential growth in the number of distance-delivered courses and degrees now available off-campus to this rapidly expanding new population of students. Rather than building a new institution, communities can think in terms of bringing the quality and experience of already existing institutions to a location nearby where all can come to learn. Formal education now takes place in hospital lounges, bedroom corners, dining rooms cleared for office space, and automobiles on the way to work.

Evolving into the new educational revolution

Indiana universities and colleges institutions are also on the leading edge of this learning revolution, where information is made available from pre-school to after-school supplementary education, to the factory floor, or to the assisted-living centers where learning never ends. The same knowledge and experience that created a college-level course can make interesting information in the same academic field available in single-concept modules for K12 students and nondegree continuing education classes. With access to the Internet, everyone with a question may readily find answers and more questions.

Learning centers are good places to bring together the distance-education technology, the remote access to college offices on-campus, and the information for making educational choices. As planning begins for developing a learning center, it is important to learn the community's educational needs by seeking the opinions of a wide variety of community leaders.

Researching: What educational opportunities do area residents need and want?

Taking the first steps:

• Do your homework and gather preliminary information about your community
  • The impact of bringing college-level classes to the community
  • The advantages of video conferencing meetings, workshops, and training
  • The educational assistance programs of larger communities made available in rural areas
  • The on-going educational needs of the community: retraining, recertification, and continuing education
  • The statewide informational opportunities now available at a distance
  • The educational opportunities already available in your community, but little known
  • The ways you can make the center attractive to citizens of the community and region
• Identify stakeholders to involve in your planning process
• Invite these stakeholders and community leaders to an exploratory meeting to discuss the information you have compiled and identify the needs of each group
• Decide whether a learning center would enrich your home town
• Determine the technology, facilities and support you need to make all this happen

To begin your planning process, take the time to outline what you need to know to begin planning. First, imagine how a center for learning could help your local community. If you can argue forcefully that such a site would be a welcome benefit, then it's time to begin compiling information.

Before you call stakeholders and community leaders into an exploratory meeting, some information is already available in your local businesses, your school system, and your public library and can be shared. To give you a feeling for expectations of area residents, human resource directors at area businesses can tell you what skills companies seek locally and what additional training would benefit the industrial neighborhood. Then, career counselors at area high schools can indicate whether good students return to the community after college and what local jobs are available to high school graduates each year. These counselors can also tell you where graduating students go to college. Public libraries have current information about your community, which is easily available with the help of the reference librarian.

Asking important questions about educational data

Gathering general economic data about the community helps you begin to sense the educational needs of the area. What percentages of citizens finish high school? What percentage goes on to college? What percentages of the work force have college degrees or advanced degrees? What are average salaries in your region? What is the average price of a home in your area? What do employers say about the skills of the local work force? How do schools need to strengthen not only their curricula but also those who teach them? With answers to these questions, you will find that a picture of your community and region begins to form in your mind.

Look at your area for the kinds of supporting structure you may need for adult learners. Are there child-care centers open for evening students? Do you have a transportation system that would allow seniors to travel to the center driving? What kind of space is available in an accessible part of town, and would there be parking for several people? If you have a location spotted, would it be near another learning facility, like the public library, the Cooperative Extension Service, the high school, or other community centers?

Armed with this perspective, you are ready to explore possibilities with a wide variety of local citizens in a comfortable setting and on a convenient date so that all points of view are heard. Having described your exploratory goal, you may want to ask each person attending for any public information and statistical profiles of the area before the meeting to provide each person with a rich background document that describes your area. The World Wide Web offers many resource sites to describe your town, your county, or your state region.

Tour your community on the Web through the following links:

Federal census data
http://www.census.gov
http://www.census.gov/datamap/www/18.html

Federal statistics
http://www.fedstats.gov

Other federal statistical data
http://Capitolimpact.com

Indiana Economic Development (Department of Commerce)
http://www.state.in.us/doc/

Examples of energy-company economic data
http://www.cinergy.com/indiana/partners/

Indiana County Chamber of Commerce (two lists; neither is complete)
http://online-chamber.com/Indiana.html
http://www.town-usa.com/chambers/chamberlist.html#indiana

Cooperative Extension Service
http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/

Associations of Indiana Counties
http://www.indianacounties.org/

Associations of cities and towns
http://www.citiesandtowns.org

Indiana Township Association
http://www.indianatownshipassoc.org/

At the exploratory meeting of community leaders, you can open the discussion of enlarging educational opportunities for your community by describing what you have learned about your county and region of the state. Think carefully of the people you will invite, and allow opportunities for all to speak. Remember to seek data from them before the meeting so you can share various perceptions of the educational needs of the community.

Community partners who can contribute ideas and issues

• County commissioners
• Mayors and city officials
• Township supervisors

• School superintendents
• Public library directors
• Major businesses and industries representatives

• Economic development council director
• Chamber of Commerce officials
• County foundation director

• Deans of continuing studies or outreach program directors from nearby higher education institutions
• Cooperative Extension Service director
• Social service agency directors
• Workforce development program director

• Parent organization presidents
• Religious leaders with social-program outreach programs in the community
• Interested citizens

• ADA compliance representative from higher education institutions or local school district
• Technology experts from public schools and local businesses
• An IHETS representative to explain statewide educational programs and new technologies in place and in development

Summarize the results of this discussion in a document containing the data you gathered and the information brought by participants, the community's educational needs as expressed in the meeting, and the variety of suggestions for expanding educational opportunities for all members of the community. Follow this with a schedule of on-going exploratory meetings in the different offices of these participants so that everyone on the committees begins to see what educational opportunities are already available and what can be added within your home town.

Assigning a task force to develop Learning Center plans

After your first meeting, determine a group of dedicated and truly interested individuals who will represent their constituencies in an active and results-oriented task force. Meet with your county commissioners to give this task force a formal focus, with reports to be offered regularly on the progress of this venture.

Incorporating ideas in a business plan

As the Learning Center model suggests, begin putting together your business plan for the center as you explore what is possible in your area. Future revisions of this document will provide templates for you to implement in learning center development, but for the moment, list the uses that your stakeholders have stated, envisioning the people who will be drawn to particular activities. What kind of services will students need? Most centers find that they must be open early and close late in the evening, so how many people should be there to operate the equipment and lock the doors? Will you need classrooms for 30 people, or will you have distance programs that usually serve from one to five people in a class and need less space. Begin to look at items and ideas with a price tag attached. For instance, how much would it cost to keep a facility open from 10 am to 9 pm?

As you plan, keep accountability for revenue and program development in mind, and build in evaluation and reporting procedures throughout the process. Keep on-going records of every activity, and make sure that your development team works on sound accounting principles with the assistance of business professionals.

This is probably a good time to visit some Learning Centers in your area of the state. The learning services coordinator at IHETS will be happy to introduce you to the coordinators and regional directors of these centers.

Finding existing educational opportunities

As a preliminary assignment, ask that task force members explore every kind of educational training and class now available in your community. When you begin looking, you will be amazed at what happens almost every day. For instance, how many furniture stores offer one-day workshops in re-upholstery, window design, or improving patio furniture? Does your garden shop offer short classes in dividing bulbs or enriching garden soil with compost? Do you have a grocery store that offers gourmet-cooking lessons? Retail stores learned a long time ago that short classes draw people into stores who stay to shop after class.

Make sure that everyone shares information about the programs available through the Cooperative Extension Service agency. These programs, taught by experts, cover a wide range of topics and are inexpensive as well as helpful. The CES offices have years of experience behind their excellent programming, and have equally fine records of helping communities develop a wide variety of programs that enrich the quality of life for area residents and economic growth.

Look at the workshops and programs that are available through public libraries, and add that to your list of learning opportunities. Is your school open in the evening for adult education classes? Many community education programs already take place in high school classrooms open in the evening. Check the programs available through local offices of state government, and ask for details about this training to add to your list.

Seeking programs to bring to the community

Well-respected and highly valued courses and programs are available from this state's higher education institutions. It is possible for a student to begin with an associates' degree, continue on with a bachelors' degree, and then complete a masters' degree, all in your own home town.

Educational opportunities for your community:

• Higher education classes and degree programs
  • Distance education classes
  • On-sites classes from nearby colleges or universities
  • Professional continuing education
• Community education classes
  • Public library space overflow
  • Local school district's family education classes
  • Cooperative Extension Service space overflow
  • Other government agencies
  • Other sponsored educational opportunities (service club speakers)
• Developmental studies skills
  • Higher education institutions
  • Local school districts
  • Public libraries
  • Available instructional software to be purchased for center
• Postsecondary instruction
  • GED classes
  • Basic computer skills

The next immediate project is to learn what types of courses and programs can be available to the Learning Center by federal and state agencies. This time call on your public library to learn more about all instruction that may be available for the asking and where these groups can be reached. Before you spend too much on postage, however, look in your phone book. Some of these sponsors are listed with local numbers to call. Look also for local experts on history, genealogy, local geography and geology, local authors, and any number of programs that can be presented in your area.

Look for centers of information, such as the Indiana College Network for distance education classes of all the public colleges and universities and some of the private institutions. Call 1-800-426-8899 to ask for a course schedule and a degree-program booklet. Later, task force members may want to talk to representatives from colleges and universities, particularly when you can bring them together with your business leaders to talk about training, but you are looking for fundamental information now.

Continue reporting to your county commissioners about what is possible to offer in a local Learning Center. You may find that the commissioners are beginning to look forward to your visits and your task force's progress

Determining how technology will affect your plan

Because much of the Learning Center's programming will involve using the most up-to-date technology for delivery of classes, you may want to call a small group of technical-support people from local school districts and area businesses, particularly those in technology or telecommunications, to help you learn what you need. Also call on IHETS staff who can recommend what you will want in conjunction with a Learning Center that will connect with the state's public and private colleges and universities for a wealth of classes and degree programs.

Recommended basics of a Learning Center (whether single site or distributed)

• An IHETS satellite video receive site
• Connectivity to support video conferencing, whether Vision Athena, ATM video conferencing via the state's of Indiana's ITN backbone network, Indiana University's
• VIC ("Virtual Indiana Classroom") network, or adaptable similar technology
• Access to the Internet
• Phone connection to ICN (1.800.ICN.8899) and public and private universities and colleges, and other learning centers
• A Learning Center coordinator with experience in student-support services, technology, marketing, and customer-service

Performing a telecommunication survey of your cCommunity or area

To gain more information about the telecommunication technology already available in your county, you need to learn the following:

• The number of IHETS Interactive receive sites
• The connections to the state of Indiana's ITN network for telecommunication
• The assistance of your local Internet Service Provider or telephone company to install equipment with excellent services, repair, and technical support

Video receive sites have been available around the state for over 30 years. You will want to learn where IHETS satellite video receive sites are located in your area. The list may contain high schools, public libraries, Cooperative Extension Services offices, area businesses, or other sites. It is worth your while to ask how these sites are used because the equipment may be more useful and accessible in a centralized educational learning center, pending your arrangements with the site contact. You may also be one of many counties where several such sites are present.

Your county may now be connected to the state of Indiana's ITN network for two-way video, two-way audio connections for video conferencing as well as Internet access for communication and classes. Look for this access in public schools, public libraries, and Cooperative Extension Services offices.

Technologies and the areas to house them require less space than standard classrooms, so as you look at the fundamental technology you need, you will also have to prepare to offer face-to-face, on-site classes available at your center if these are in your plans. What kinds of classroom display technology will instructors expect to find?

The basics of classroom display technology

• A greenboard
• A whiteboard
• An easel with pads of paper

• A slide projector and screen
• An overhead projector or a projection screen, camera, and display console in one unit
• Large monitors and VCRs and connections to satellite video
• Connections to the state of Indiana's ITN network, Vision Athena and/or Indiana University's VIC (Virtual Indiana Classroom)

As you look at the ideas for instruction to be offered at the new learning center, think about the classroom space you need, a computer lab, smaller class areas for Internet and interactive video classes. You will also need a specific administration and reception area, where students can look at bulletins from colleges and universities and other postsecondary opportunities, and the Coordinator has a private office for talking with individuals.

The space you need for classroom and study areas

Depending on the number of face-to-face classes you plan to offer and students you expect to serve,

• Average-sized classroom(s) to hold 30 students
• A computer lab for computer instruction, between 10-15 networked personal computers
• Small areas for 1-5 students taking Internet or video courses, at least 3 such spaces
• Reception area with 2-3 computers for students using the Internet or sending email
• Sofas and chairs around a reference area of brochures and bulletins from colleges and universities and other postsecondary opportunities
• Office space, workroom, and private area for counseling and phone contact with universities

Learning Centers now in operation throughout the state are located in a single site, with classrooms, technological connections, and the Learning Center coordinator very close at hand. The coordinator is the hub of the center, counseling students, assisting their reaching campus with questions, keeping the center's information current with the campuses, marketing the center and helping students use technology. Many coordinators singlehandedly cover the center through afternoon and evening hours when most instruction for adult students takes place. More active centers employ trained part-time help to cover all the hours of operation. Where the coordinator's offices are located, however, does not have to be at the same location as the interactive technology.

Some newly interested counties find their county's technology surveys indicate satellite video receive sites in different locations from connections to video conferencing on the state of Indiana's ITN network. Available classroom space may be in a third location altogether. No rule states that all the elements of a learning center must be in one location. The person taking an Internet class may not have an IHETS satellite video class until the following semester, and after pre-class discussions with the Learning Center coordinator, the student's evenings may be spent simply viewing the class. The coordinator is available in an accessible site nearby.

The drawback to the diversified services model is that contractual security must be provided at two or three sites in the evening rather than a single site where one person locks up for the night. This extended center, however, takes advantage of already existing and expensive technologies and may offer value for county expenditures. These considerations must be weighed carefully as plans are being drawn for the new center.

Financial plans for growing a learning center

The Learning Center model required that a business plan be submitted with each plan for new centers. Business plans can be complex or simple, but planning for market revenue sources and expenses from the beginning better guarantees sustainability. Technological costs will be very different from supporting the services of the Learning Center coordinator, who once trained will become difficult to replace easily and whose skills will become more marketable with each year of experience. This position and supporting staff require reliable and on-going support to provide stability for your center. Ongoing needs assessment and promotion will not only assure that your center is used but also that it will continue to be supported financially.

Note: The information herein may be reproduced in whole or in part, with appropriate attribution.