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What is a Learning Center?

Educational opportunities in your hometown

"The Indiana College Network's Learning Centers are not only a place where adult students can take college classes off-campus or over the Internet or video, but also where communities can learn about many other postsecondary educational opportunities."

Over 41 counties in Indiana are home to one or more Indiana College Network Learning Centers. The year 1994 began the development and growth of these centers where adults interested in postsecondary education could take classes near their work or hometown, alleviating the need to travel long distances to campus. The centers also provided a skilled professional Learning Center coordinator who could explain how someone could live in Vevay and complete courses from Ball State University, Purdue University, or any of the other originating institutions across the state. In the center, the student found access to campus information, a satellite video receive site, the Internet access to take courses on-line, the business machines necessary to prepare and send homework to campus, and the Coordinator, who helped the students take classes and do business with the universities and colleges.

The area residents who signed up for courses were generally excited about this new opportunity close to home.

ICN students have reported

• "I could never have gone to school any other way!"
• "The driving time I save allows me more time with my family."
• "Everyone at the center has been so nice to work with."
• "Who can imagine that I could finish a business degree in Osgood, Indiana?"
• "My children tell their friends that their mom is going to college—I feel as if I am also setting a good example."

What is a Learning Center?

The Indiana College Network's learning centers are not only places where adult students can take college classes off-campus or over the Internet or video, but also where communities can learn about many other postsecondary opportunities. The term "learning center" has been used elsewhere in Indiana to describe the activities in established on-campus resource centers that offer developmental study skills in math, reading, and writing. Some public libraries have named their multimedia areas as learning centers, and several private firms offer personal tutoring assistance in their centers.

In the new twenty-first century, it's clear that all kinds of instruction are needed to meet the needs of Indiana communities, and the ICN centers, particularly those in smaller communities around the state, can offer the outreach programs and opportunities of the IHETS consortium higher education institutions and broker many other learning opportunities that are available from many resources outside the institutions. Technology can literally extend the horizons of Indiana citizens within their communities.

ICN Learning Centers serve

• Full-time workers
• Third-shift workers
• Physical and learning disabled

• Those unable to travel far to campus
• Economically disadvantaged students
• "Looking for a better job"

• Summer school students who have a job at home
• School teachers taking classes for recertification
• Busy parents of young families

• Retirees
  • "I've always wanted to become a ......"
  • "It's MY turn for a college degree!"

• Folks who "Just like to take a class every now and then"

Many ICN Learning Centers are located on college and university campuses, with resources just down the hall or close by on another floor or in the next building. A growing number of ICN centers, however, are located away from campus in public libraries, public high schools or vocational schools, or a community center such as Moores Hill in southeastern Indiana. New university centers, such as those in Versailles, Carmel, and Elkhart, can be found in growing populous areas where several universities and colleges offer on-site classes as well as distance classes in a single location.

At an ICN Learning Center, an interested learner can receive instruction and use the ICN schedule of distance education classes and the ICN Web-based database of courses to learn about all the courses that can be delivered to the center. The student can take courses on-site at the center or through various technologies. The ICN coordinators themselves are in regular communication with one another, via phone, email, and monthly meetings that handle troubleshooting and professional development. In a small town in southeastern Indiana, a Learning Center coordinator can put a Ball State student in direct contact with any office on the Ball State campus and arrange to let the student speak directly with the instructor on campus, while the student remains in her chair.

Learning Center coordinators can help a student:

• Find information about degree programs and classes
• Communicate with campus offices and an instructor
• Use new technology, such as the Internet and Web
• Learn about services already available in the community, such as
  • Public libraries
  • Area school district adult-education programs
  • Classes available through the area's County Extension Service
  • Programs and classes from local government service agencies
  • Other instructional opportunities in the area
• Take classes offered at a distance from all state-supported universities and colleges and a growing number of private institutions within the state

At an ICN Learning Center, students can find information about developmental study skills available in the area. They can learn about GED classes available on Indiana's public television stations and through adult education programs at area high schools and public libraries. Some centers may even keep lists of experienced tutors for basic courses, and developmental skills software available at the Center, in the local public library, or at area public schools.

The ICN Learning Centers have grown from just over 40 centers in 1994 to over 60. Each year, more Indiana communities want to learn how they can use the new technology in growing numbers of public schools, public libraries, local government agencies, and in the statewide continuing education locations of Purdue University's Cooperative Extension Service.

What can an ICN Learning Center offer your community?

In 1994, Indiana College Network Learning Centers grew from already existing facilities on college campuses statewide and in southeastern Indiana where the IHETS consortium had already offered higher education classes over video. In spring semester 2001, the Learning Center at Ivy Tech Madison had 239 registrations for distance courses, involving seven institutions and several different Ivy Tech campuses.

It's important to look at the communities where learning centers are now developing to understand what local groups actively seek more learning opportunities and services. Look at the constituencies who will find a learning center an asset.

Local community groups who can use Learning Center services

• Individual citizens of all ages and economic groups
• Area businesses and industries from small businesses to major corporations
• Public libraries
• K-12 and early-childhood educators
• State and local government officials and staff
• Federal government social service agency officials and staff
• Local initiative outreach programs to minority populations
• County Extension Services

Citizens use the Learning Center to reach personal goals

In the brief history of ICN Learning Centers, the vast majority have been adults with an average age of 30-35 and above-average household income, but the parameters are wide. Some students, although traditional college age, must remain in their communities to support their families with full-time jobs, working toward their academic goals after work. Many traditional students have recently become interested in summer programs that allow them to earn money with summer jobs and take a class or two from their university via distance education in their hometown Learning Center. Special populations have discovered the centers, from new empty-nesters and mid-career goal changers, to those who have learned that certificates and degrees allow them much greater flexibility and adaptability in a changing economy.

Some ICN Learning Centers have gathered developmental study skills software, such as those in fundamental math, vocabulary-building, and English composition, to allow those who have been out of school for a while to catch up before beginning degree programs. Some centers have worked with Vincennes University to combine these programs with assessment tests that let learners know how well they match skills with on-campus students. Computer programs somehow seem less threatening to adult students than working with a college official, with such immediate feedback that the results generally encourage the visitor to begin exploring educational options.

At the center, the student may use the Web to research topics for a paper, or seek information about careers, financial aid, or any number of useful resources. The Indiana State Library's INSPIRE databases offer the student access to articles in the most recent periodicals.

Other special programs for local learners may include access to tutors who may reside in the community. Retired schoolteachers, engineers, or other professionals may enjoy helping earnest students. Some centers have established their own basic computer skills courses for area residents of all ages, and these classes are immediately popular. Several centers that are not on college campuses offer outreach, face-to-face on-site classes from nearby institutions, providing a choice of learning environments. With enough space and proper access, the centers may even be able to offer special training for local residents in helpful topics, provided by the area's Cooperative Extension Service, the public library, or other local agency.

Area businesses and industries find an area learning center an asset

Business and industry look to the education community to help them keep their workers' skills current with technological changes. They seek sound, reliable educational support with value for their training dollar. At a Learning Center, they expect to find continuing education for their supervisors, managers, and professional staff, with helpful programming in communication skills, supervision and management training, as well as the fundamentals of business. Small businesses hope to find resources for training and retraining workers, with such practical courses as English as a second language (ESL) training for entry-level positions and conversational Spanish for supervisors and managers. On-going computer-applications training is always welcome and supported, almost as much as customer-service and leadership training. The Learning Center may even be the location for small-business training for entrepreneurs and start-ups offered by state and federal programs.

The ties that Learning Centers have with university and college campuses offer the opportunity of special programs developed by on-campus continuing education programs that include special outreach to business and industry, such a contract-training services, or special certificates planned in partnerships between the business and the institution. An example of this certificate would be requiring auto-industry floor supervisors to complete 30 credit hours of general education courses for further promotion.

Public libraries partner with ICN Learning Centers to offer assistance

Indiana public libraries embrace the new technology for the opportunities it allows rural areas to have access to the same material as that available in metropolitan areas. Along the way, libraries have sought to enlarge their capabilities to offer programming for the local community with a wide variety of learning opportunities, from book-based talks with visiting authors to tax-advice programs for the elderly, from programs featuring the Cooperative Extension Services Master Gardeners to parenting information. These programs have become so popular that collaboration with an ICN Learning Center can offer shared or overflow space for these programs.

In addition, local public libraries can offer many of the same services available at college libraries, with access to inter-library loan programs. It is possible for a student in Seymour, Indiana, to access through inter-library loan, materials from major universities around the country.

Educators find professional training opportunities available locally

K-12 and early-childhood teachers have found that colleges and universities offer them year-round courses via distance. After many years traveling every summer to campus for recertification and licensure, teachers are pleased to limit travel to a nearby Learning Center where courses are available over satellite video and the Internet, with computer access to interactivity with the instructor and classmates on the Web or by phone conference.

The ICN Learning Center offers a communication link between universities and local schools for the growing need to share information and programs with peer teachers around the state. While much of the programming for the Indiana Academy at Ball State goes directly to the school, a growing number of home-schooled students may use the center for classes for the Indiana University High School.

Special videoconferences for educators and other professionals may be located in the ICN Learning Center rather than a particular school, depending on the topic and sponsorship.

Nationwide, Operation Headstart programs now require continuing education with accredited college and university programs. Headstart staff must work toward degrees in selected subject areas to receive financial assistance. ICN Learning Centers in rural areas make meeting such requirements feasible.

Local government finds value in an ICN Learning Center

Imagine that with the installation of video conferencing equipment, that statewide meetings in Indianapolis are better attended than ever before because its participants stay home! All this in a system that allows on-line training for local officials in changes in state laws and policies.

The ICN Learning Centers provide a local presence for higher education activities in the state, an excellent feature to highlight when attracting new businesses.

Social service agencies discover distance education useful

A variety of statewide initiatives are already operating throughout the state, and distance education enriches available opportunities. Special programs for women returning to the workforce and retraining may very well be located at the ICN Learning Center. These new ways of looking at workforce development can include job skills development enrichment courses. Furthermore, agency staff requires ongoing training, and the center may be able to offer its facilities for such classes.

At the same time, the local community may determine the need for statewide communication among local agencies to promote creative solutions to problems that affect many similar communities, for example, training for similar-sized volunteer fire departments or training in guarding groundwater. The linkages that are now possible throughout the state are just beginning to appear. Imagine a videoconference with all the communities along the White River from its source to its mouth, and the educational results of sharing observations and planning.

Cooperative Extension Services welcome ICN Learning Center to local communities

With its history of continuing education and community involvement, the Cooperative Extension Service county offices view the growth of community-based learning centers as a continuation of their mission for community development to local areas of the state. They can partner with the centers for physical space, advanced communication technology, and presentations on topics of local concern. As part of Purdue University, the CES also works with the other IHETS consortium members to assist in program development, and in all likelihood, widen its audience for on-going programs.

In summary

The Indiana College Network Learning Center is a new partner in educational and communication enterprise in communities across the state. While still a location for nearly a thousand higher education courses each semester, delivered by advanced technology, that same technology increases a community's capability to communicate across the state with similar communities or on a regional basis for the good of local citizens.

The nature of the community often determines the range of postsecondary education available to area citizens, but these centers sharing resources open wide the doors to postsecondary education as Indiana citizens and help make educational growth a lifetime interest and activity.

"I could never have gone to school any other way!"