Continuing Education Honored

INNOVATIVE PROGRAMMING RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE

Central Oregon Community College's Continuing Education department received an "International Award" honor from the Learning Resources Network (LERN) for excellence in business and industry programming at the association's 2017 annual conference held in Portland.

According to Glenda Lantis, director of COCC's Continuing Education, the award recognized an innovative public sector partnership that creates customized training for six regional agencies—Deschutes County, the city of Bend, the city of Redmond, Deschutes Public Library, Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council and the Bend Metro Parks & Recreation District—to enhance professional development and boost overall employee retention. To date, more than 1,600 employees have participated in the professional trainings.

Nancy Jumper, Continuing Education's professional development & workforce program manager, met with public sector leadership to establish the framework and goals of the partnership. The resulting program requires each agency to contribute funding that covers the cost of delivering the training. The leadership group determines partner needs to establish a course catalog that focuses on topics of management, customer service, business communication and technology. Additionally, the partnership developed a leadership training program for the benefit of each agency.

The success of the program has led to the growth of customized courses beyond the public sector partnership. "The formation of this solutions-based partnership will serve as a model for lifelong learning and continuing education units across North America," said Lantis.

LERN, the world's largest continuing education association, is a Wisconsin-based nonprofit founded in 1974 that offers information and resources to providers of lifelong learning programs.

Information: Nancy Jumper, Continuing Education’s professional development & workforce program manager, at 541-383-7273 or njumper@cocc.edu.

Photo: Continuing Education’s Nancy Jumper.