Summer 2010 I www.lern.org

Web Site Ef fectivenessHow conversion rates provide understanding 6

Contract Training Sales 2.0The biggest revolution since the 1950s 15

Plus, Best Brochure Designs of the YearAnd much more...

The One-Year EmployeeAnd more of the latest trends in lifelong learning 9

LERN Magazine | Summer 20102

The LERN TeamHere are some of the people on the LERN team. For more people on the LERN team, see the next issue of the LERN Magazine.

LERN Board of Directors, 2009-10Chair: Cheryl Green, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA

June Piry, British Columbia Real Estate Association, Vancouver, BCRita Martinez-Purson, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

Mark Mrozinksi, Harper College, Palatine, ILLaura Guentner, Pepper Pike, OHJoe Miera, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

University CouncilChair: Wendy Evers, San Diego State University, San Diego, CALisa Dael, Ohio University, Athens, OHAmy Tice, Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, WIBrent Wooten, Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, Standish, MEJennifer John, Emory University, Atlanta, GAVickie Richmond Hawkins, University of Wisconsin Marathon, Wausau, WISherrilyn Kuehn, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WVCecilia Bowie, Chicago State University, Chicago, ILCindy Caruso, Utah Valley University, Orem, UTAnu Varsava, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB

Community College CouncilChair: Perry L. Harker, Carteret Community College, Morehead City, NCMary Charuhas, College of Lake County, Grayslake, ILJanice Dolan, Portland Community College, Portland, ORGreg Marshall, WhatCom Community College, Bellingham, WADjuna Forrester, North Central Texas College, Gainesville, TXCathie Hanson, Brazosport College, Lake Jackson, TXCyndi Pardee, Riverside Community College, Riverside, CAKim Johnson, Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, IAGinny Carson, Community College of Baltimore County, Baltimore, MDTrenton Hightower, Virginia Community College System, Richmond, VATerry Newman, Gavilan College, Gilroy, CA Doug Soo, Langara College, Vancouver, BC Marquetta Finley, Tulsa Community College, Tulsa, OK Anu Varsava, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB Mike Woodhead, Montana State – Great Falls College of Technology

Faculty ConsultantsDr. Rita-Marie Conrad, Florida State University, Senior Consultant for Faculty Development and Online InstructionDr. Mary Dereshiwsky, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Chair of Faculty Club

LERN Magazine is the leading periodical on lifelong learning. It is published by the Learning Resources Network (LERN), the lead-ing international association in lifelong learning, with more than 4,000 members in 16 countries. LERN provides training and consulting to providers of lifelong learning programs. LERN Magazine is available to Organizational Members. To join or for more information, call 800-678-5376 weekdays 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. CT, or e-mail info@lern.org.

Chair Elect: David Reilly, Forest Hill Community High School, West Palm Beach, FLPast Chair: Paula Hogard, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK Treasurer: Jon Jay Stockslader, Niagara University, Niagara, NY

LERN Magazine | Summer 2010 3Summer C.E. News

IRS Crackdown Rocks FieldThe IRS crackdown of teachers and presenters as independent contractors has shaken the field. LERN is help-ing programs with strategies. Latest:

• New survey shows 60% of pro-grams at risk.

• IRS rules against the City of Daly, CA., recreation program.

• LERN leaders declare IRS crack-down a big setback for lifelong learning and society.

• Thousands more cancelled courses possible due to extra teacher costs.

Julie Coates, Vice President for In-formation Services at LERN, has written a special ‘White Paper” on the topic. Email Debbie Barron at debbie@lern.org for a copy. You can also access the archive of Julie’s we-binar on the topic in the LERN Club.

New C.E. Skills Needed for Second DecadeNew skills are needed by continuing education and lifelong learning pro-gram CEOs for the second decade of the 21st century. Managing tele-workers, programming online and increasing staff productivity are 3 of the 30 new skills continuing ed CEOs will need for the next 3-5 years. “The second decade for continu-ing education and lifelong learning will be entirely different than the last decade,” noted Greg Marsello and Wm. Draves at the big Executive Leadership Institute in Tucson last month. Top practitioners Doug Soo and Rita Martinez-Purson also spoke.

C.E. News New Skills Needed for Second Decade.

The new CEO skills fall into four areas:1. New StaffingCEOs now need to be able to revise staffing positions and create new po-sitions and job descriptions. LERN estimates up to one-half of your job descriptions will be entirely differ-ent in five years. New positions may include eMarketing, customer reten-tion, instructional design, and social media.

2. Changing yourselfProfessionals in lifelong learning pro-grams and continuing education have always been on the cutting edge of change in their institutions. You have pioneered customer service, new ways of marketing, needs assessment in institutions. And you have had to stay on the cutting edge of change in your courses and offerings. Now the change from the Industri-al Age to the Internet Age is so enor-mous you have to change yourself.

3. Capturing new markets and customersThere are new markets to capture, such as Generation Y and the Baby Boomers. And there are new ways to capture markets and customers, such as with social media, analyzing your data at a much higher level of sophistication, and collecting even more demographic and purchasing data on your customers.

4.Redesigning Programs and Product MixThe increasing influence of online learning has created new opportuni-ties for growth markets, including certificates, online courses, and niche topics promoted over a broad geographic area. And within five years all of your courses will need to become hybrid, conserving class-room space, saving time for partici-pants, and increasing the learning.

Time for national campaign?Is it time for a national campaign in Canada and the U.S. to defend and support continuing education and lifelong learning? There’s less sup-port than ever before for people to take courses, institutions question-ing the value of lifelong learning, and the IRS trying to squeeze more money out of programs. Backing a suggestion by Rita Martinez-Purson, LERN leaders met

Doug Soo of Langara College and Rita Mar-tinez-Purson of Univ of New Mexico share their bold innovative strategies for working with central administration.

Cheryl Green-Pozner of National Fire Protection Assn and Jeannette of Lake Worth, FL, talk at big Tucson meeting.

LERN Magazine | Summer 20104 Summer C.E. News

recently and strongly supported the idea of a national campaign to sup-port and defend lifelong learning. The campaign would involve engag-ing LERN member programs to pro-mote a slogan and campaign.

Top Challenges in C.E.Confusion over certificates is the top challenge for continuing educa-tors right now. That according to the Senior LERN Leaders meeting in Tucson this spring. Questions like, “What is a good certificate?” and “What is accepted for recertification standards?” are a few of the issues needing clarification. The other top 5 challenges for continuing educators right now:

2. How continuing education can keep up with campus demands.

3. Programming for Seniors and late baby boomers returning to the workforce.

4. Delivering instructions to young people.

5. Tackling low completion rates for online courses.

Other challenges mentioned included:

• Helping students with ADHD and ADD

• Serving boys and men.

• Helping students who are not pre-pared for post-secondary education.

• Lumping credit and noncredit stu-dents together in the same class.

• Tax issues for students who have courses paid by employers.

Top Trend in C.E.Technology and online learning are increasing their influence and impact on the field of continuing education. The two top trends in continuing education both relate to technology and online learning.

Implementing more technology at face-to-face events and hiring in-structional designers are the two top trends in continuing education right now, according to Senior LERN Leaders meeting in Tucson this spring. The technology includes things like using smart phones at events, texting participants, and replacing proceedings manuals and paper with electronic access.

Workforce near top of trendsGrant money for workforce develop-ment programs is the third biggest trend in continuing education right now, behind technology for events and hiring instructional designers. In fourth position is a topic related to workforce development – doing more career training online. Also on the list is the customization of training for the workforce.

Personal enrichment registrations bounce backA number of programs are reporting a bounce back in personal enrich-ment registrations, the hardest hit area of continuing education during the recession. Other kinds of courses where pro-grammers are seeing some positive signs for registrations and income include:

• Computers

• Business

• Fitness

• Entrepreneurship

• Older work force

• Study skills for parents

• Ala carte camps

Senior Leaders Create 4 New Directions for LERNMeeting in Tucson this spring, se-nior LERN leaders created four

exciting new directions for the field of lifelong learning and continuing education for the coming year.

1. National campaign to support lifelong learningBacking a suggestion by Rita Martinez-Purson, leaders strongly supported the idea of a national campaign to support and defend life-long learning. The campaign would involve engaging LERN member programs to promote a slogan and campaign.

2. More Free Member WebinarsThe popular free webinars for mem-bers were heartily endorsed and will continue over the next year. A number of leaders also requested webinars on using the technology tools LERN has created for LERN members to use without charge.

3. LERN Research DivisionA LERN Research Division was backed by the LERN leaders. The research would involve both standard reports on new issues in the field of continuing education and lifelong learning, as well as customized re-search for an individual organization. LERN will engage interested LERN members in providing feedback on the best ways to deliver the research, and the most feasible pricing.

4. DashboardA software dashboard on a LERN member’s computer or cell phone with vital and up-to-date statistics should be developed, the LERN leaders proposed. The data could include the latest revenue and regis-tration data, benchmark and target ratios, as well as news.

LERN Magazine | Summer 2010 5IRS Cracks Down

IRS Cracks down on C.E. Programs

By Julie Coates LERN Vice President for Information

teachers as employees. You are urged to review your clas-sification of anyone you classify as an independent contractor. Programs should consult their legal resources, and document exactly what you are doing if you classify someone as an independent contractor. It is possible to have both inde-pendent contractors and employees working for your program, depend-ing on the work relationship with your organization, so it does not nec-essarily have to be either/or status. Over the next three years, the IRS plans to undertake 6,000 random au-dits nationwide, and the government expects to generate an additional seven billion dollars in revenue over the next ten years as a result of re-classifying workers from independent contractors to employees. Not only is the IRS undertaking increased inves-tigations, the Department of Labor has also allocated dollars in its budget to hire additional investigators, and at least 37 states have increased their diligence in identifying organizations that have misclassified their workers. Since 1988 when the last crack-down began, there has been a grow-ing trend toward classifying workers as independent contractors. While this is legitimate in some cases, abuse has also grown as employers have sought to reduce their em-ployee costs. With the downturn of the economy in 2009, the situation became even worse, and now the

crackdown has begun as state and federal governments look for ways to increase their revenues. There is no legal definition of what constitutes an independent con-tractor. The determination is made on the basis of 20 factors developed by the IRS. These 20 factors are sometimes difficult to interpret and apply. LERN recommends that you immediately seek consultation with your organization’s legal counsel to determine your level of risk of being audited. Penalties for misclassifica-tion can be quite severe and include requirements to pay back taxes and other penalties. In at least one state, the legislature has made misclassifi-cation a third degree felony, classify-ing it as tax fraud. There are several things that can trigger an audit:1. You may be randomly selected.2. You provide a 1099 form instead

of a W-2 form to report employee earnings.

3. A worker applies for worker’s compensation or unemployment but is classified as an independent contractor.

4. A worker files a request for re-view of his or her status.

5. A worker checks the box on his or her tax return stating that they be-lieve they should be an employee although they are classified as an independent contractor.

LERN does not provide legal advice, is not a legal firm, and this article is information only.

There is a new emphasis by the IRS, the Department of Labor, and state governments on identifying workers who are “misclassified” as inde-pendent contractors. The new IRS crackdown includes investigating continuing education and lifelong programs that classify their instruc-tors as independent contractors instead of employees. This new ini-tiative could have far-reaching ef-fects on lifelong learning programs. LERN does not provide legal advice, is not a legal firm, and this article is information only. A recent LERN survey of mem-bers shows that 40% of LERN member programs classify their in-structors as independent contractors instead of employees. Some 40% of programs classify their teachers as employees. And another 20% of pro-grams have a mix of classifications, with some instructors as employees and others as independent contractors. For example, the IRS recently investigated the recreation program at the City of Daly, California, and ruled that the lifelong learning program needs to reclassify its

LERN Magazine | Summer 20106 Measuring Web Site Effectiveness

Here is a good question from Beryl Morimoto of Honolulu: “Does LERN keep standards or averages for continuing education Web sites? For example by campus size, is there an average of number of hits a Web site might have? This is for a Web site that is capable of taking online registrations.”

Here’s the answer. The number of hits to your web site is not really going to be useful to you in understanding how well your web site functions. The hits may be coming from sources not interested in your program at all. So the num-ber of hits, while interesting, is not an indication of the quality visitors to your web site, and certainly not an indication of whether prospective participants are registering with you. Online registrations are also not a good indication of how well your web site is performing. While the number and percentage of registrations that are received online are certainly im-portant to count, online registrations come from a variety of sources, such

as your brochure and email. So on-line registrations are not a measure of your web site effectiveness.

What best programs trackThere are statistics the best programs do track, and you should be tracking. These include:

• Conversions of visits to sales

• Search terms used by visitors

• Search terms used for courses you do not offer

• Amount of time spent on your site

• Pages visited and time spent per page/course

• Exit page (last page viewed before leaving your site)

Conversion ratesWhile there is no established bench-mark for sales conversions, LERN recommends that you aim for at least a 25% conversion rate (course page visits to sales). This is a standard in other industries, and is reasonable as a target for continuing education and lifelong learning programs.

Best measureThe best measure of how well your web site is functioning is to track the number and percentage of people who visit an individual course or event description on your web site, and then register online with you. This measurement ties income with

your web site. You do this by using Google Analytics. To our knowl-edge, no program has yet conducted this analysis. The analysis costs no money. If you know of any program tracking this data, please let LERN know.

Advanced TechniqueseMarketing guru Dan Belhassen provides the details on how to track the registrations gained from your web site. Do one of the following using analytics eCommerce tracking. If you cannot modify your actual online registration process, but you do have access to the course library, you could assign a dollar value to each of your course detail pages (i.e.: $1 each), plus a value to going to the registration form (i.e.: $5). If you do have access to your reg-istration system, you can track the actual value of registration. Using both methods above, you can now start tracking results based on value instead of traffic. You can then correlate back the revenue to the traffic source. For instance, you could “discover” that traffic from particular keywords or sources is more valuable, and thus could be exploited further to increase traffic from that source.

Measuring Web Site Effectiveness As program web sites continue to improve in design, some programs are now asking how to measure the effectiveness of their web site.

LERN Magazine | Summer 2010 7Best Brochure Design in Continuing Education

Best Brochure Design

LERN Magazine | Summer 20108 Best Brochure Design in Continuing Education

Best Brochure Design

LERN Magazine | Summer 2010 9Latest Trends in C.E.

Latest Trends in C.E. Retention position new to fieldMark Mrozinski, dean of continuing education at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, has created a new position for his unit, and maybe for the field. The job is to increase retention. Mrozinski documented his cur-rent retention rate, figured out the cost of hiring a position for a year to boost retention, and then estimated the boost in income from a modest retention increase. The income was approximately three times the salary of the person to be hired. He took the information to his college and the numbers sold the college on allowing him to hire for the new position. If it doesn’t work out, it is still worth the risk, Mrozinski told us. This is one more piece of evi-dence that the field is moving from market share (numbers of customers) to customer share (boosting what each customer spends). LERN is betting the position will definitely work out, and that we will see other programs have a dedicated person to boosting retention as well. Staffing positions moving forward for the field of continuing education and lifelong learning may look very different from those of the last few decades.

The one-year employeeOne-year positions may be emerging in the field of continuing education

and lifelong learning. Mark Mrozin-ski, in hiring a new person to boost retention for his program, hopes his new one-year position will be ex-tended and become permanent. But he budgeted it for a year. Career experts have long said that Generation Y will change jobs as frequently as once a year. More like-ly is that “one-year employees” will be hired for specific projects with an end date. But it is significant that at least one leading practitioner in the field is thinking in terms of just one year to start.

Invest in marketingSuccessful programs are investing in marketing, even during the tough times. One successful practitioner, Mark Mrozinski of Harper College, Palatine, IL, says that marketing costs more today. Certainly awards submissions to LERN verified that investing in marketing pays off. There were no awards submissions or success stories from programs that had eliminated their brochures. Instead, there were numerous success stories with hard positive numbers from programs that had invested in high quality brochures and targeted mar-keting.

Will Marketing be 25% ?Ten years ago, LERN conference keynoter Don Libey, a direct marketing expert, predicted that marketing costs would rise to 25% of income in this

century. So on the tenth anniversary of that prediction, LERN checked back with Libey to get his thoughts for 2010. Here’s what he told LERN. “I am seeing marketing costs today in a range between 16% and 25% of sales for many direct marketers, and in some cases as high as 30%. However, one highly successful $300 million B2B catalog company I am on the board of has a marketing cost of less than 10%. It is clear that, in general, it has become more expen-sive and less effective. It seems to me that direct marketing has given up a significant portion of its ‘advan-tage’ and has become much more of a ‘normal’ profitability business. In that regard, we have moved more to the center of the normal investment/return curve.” To summarize Libey’s view, mar-keting costs are going up, though they have not averaged 25% yet.

Time to help undergrad programsUndergraduate programs want to become financially self sufficient too, reports Jan Wahl of the College of Extended Studies at San Diego State University. She told other university c.e. leaders that as financial pressures continue to mount for higher education institutions, a number of undergrad programs want to learn from continuing edu-cation how to become financially self sufficient.

Dean of Continuing Education at Harper College, Palatine, IL – Mark Mrozinski

Direct marketing guru Don Libey

Associate Dean, College of Extended Studies, San Diego State University – Jan Wahl

LERN Magazine | Summer 201010

“This is a time to make friends for continuing education,” she told the group at the big LERN conference.

Programmers are budget officersProgrammers are budget officers, award-winning continuing education program CEO Doug Soo told other c.e. leaders at the big LERN confer-ence. He says programmers should create their own budgets, have responsibility over their operating margins, and have the decision- making authority to meet those bud-gets. Soo is head of continuing edu-cation at Langara College in British Columbia, a program he grew from $800,000 income to $8 million in-come over the past ten years.

The future of small programsFeeling even more vulnerable than ever, continuing educators with small programs, often with only one- person offices, are wondering about the future of small continuing educa-tion programs. Here’s what we see:

1. If small programs or any portion of the program is profitable, keep doing it. Small programs with no discernible financial problems should keep doing what they are doing.

2. Look for niches. Small programs can thrive if they specialize in a niche, such as given subject area (such as a profession) or audience (such as seniors or youth).

3. Consolidate operations. There is a big opportunity to grow and thrive by consolidating operations and marketing with other like-minded and noncompeting organi-zations, such as other institutions in the same system. LERN has developed a model for consolida-tion that calls for consolidating

operations and marketing, while keeping programming and needs assessment locally based.

With specialization and growing sophistication in the field, small pro-grams will find it increasingly dif-ficult to survive without choosing a niche strategy and/or consolidation of operations.

First leisure certificateOne of the first leisure certificates in university continuing education is a big success for Jon Jay Stockslader of Niagara University. He reports a new Cooking Certificate composed of six cooking courses is very popu-lar. Helping make the effort a suc-cess is the fact that he was able to secure kitchens on campus to hold the courses. Almost all certificates up to now have been vocational and work-related. A Cooking Certificate geared towards leisure and avoca-tional interests is new and could be an interesting growth area for c.e.

Certificate standards comingThe call for standards for the grow-ing area of certificates and certifica-tions is growing louder. During a University Council meeting recently, Council members were unanimous in urging LERN to develop standards for certificates. The main theme of the continuing education leaders’ comments was that certificates should have assess-ment, be outcomes-based, and have standards related to outcomes. Council Chair Wendy Evers of San Diego State University noted that continuing education units need to connect with associations in order to understand what skills and com-petencies and learner outcomes are required for certificates. Sherry Kuehn of West Virginia University added that the standards should include the International

Latest Trends in C.E.

Learning Unit (ILU) standard and benchmarks. Vicki Richmond Hawkins of the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County suggested that some delivery standards also be developed. It was clear that the standards should be applicable to online certifi-cates as well as face-to-face offerings. For state regulatory bodies and associations regulating licensing requirements, the leaders were inter-ested in knowing more about how to meet those requirements. LERN senior leaders will an-nounce the certificate standards at the big LERN conference in Chi-cago. Cheryl Green-Pozner of the National Fire Protection Association is chair of the certificate and certifi-cation standards committee.

Social Media guidelines coming for your staffLERN continuing education leaders reacted positively to a suggestion that LERN develop guidelines for continuing education staff on using social media such as Facebook, Twit-ter, etc. Judy Wendorf of Cardinal Stritch University said the guidelines could help continuing educators understand what is positive social media activity and what is out of bounds. Joe Miera of the University of New Mexico noted that there need to be guidelines for individual Face-book pages developed by c.e. staff for professional c.e. reasons, as well as Organizational Facebook pages. Concerned about volunteers wear-ing T-shirts with the organization’s logo after work and in sometimes unbecoming situations, another organization is asking LERN for guidelines on photos of staff and volunteers that might appear on Facebook and other web pages.

LERN Magazine | Summer 2010 11Best Brochure Design in Continuing Education

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Stimulus funding short term While continuing education programs are taking advantage of federal gov-ernment stimulus funding, few appear to be relying on the money long term. Wendy Evers of San Diego State says that it is critical for her program to transition any programs started with stimulus monies into financially self sufficient programs within two years. Other continuing educators noted the process of getting funds can be complex and time consuming. Those participating in the recent University Council conference call agreed that stimulus funding is short term and they are not leaning heavily on such short-term funding right now.

What’s hotAcademic enrichment, GED, busi-ness retraining, Microsoft 2007, PhotoShop – Marquetta Finley, Tulsa Community College Adobe, Office, computers up. Per-sonal enrichment doing quite well, not predicted it would do this well, doing better than business – Greg Marshall, Whatcom Community College Certification hot, online courses up, weatherization and BPI “green” certification for electricians and plumbers – Trenton Hightower, Vir-ginia Community College System Trades, weatherization, certifi-cates in allied health, tourism and hospitality – Perry Harker, Carteret Community College Personal enrichment holding its own, certificates up 1-2%, success with partnering with workforce de-velopment board to customize offer-ings for business – Mark Mrozinski, Harper College

Cooking Really HotCooking has been hot for a long time, report some c.e. leaders. But others are saying it is hotter than ever. Local cuisine and local chefs appear to be the new trend. Marquetta Finley says local chefs teaching the course make the difference.

Classroom space shortageSome c.e. leaders are reporting classroom space shortage, as the credit and degree classes and surge in credit students take precedent over getting classroom space. That, plus budget cuts taking place at the same time as increased credit enroll-ments puts an even bigger squeeze on space, notes Marquetta Finley of Tulsa Community College. It limits the number of courses we can offer, adds Mark Mrozinski of Harper College. LERN is suggesting c.e. courses be transitioned to hybrid courses, meeting in-person half as often and then utilizing the web for online dis-cussion and even online lectures in between face-to-face class meetings. Harper College is already doing that. Contact LERN if you would like training on how to transition your courses to hybrid or web-enhanced.

Take photos, get PRWith local newspapers cutting back on staff and resources, take your own photos and send them to your local newspaper, says Greg John-son, program head in Westminster, California. Johnson takes pictures of his programs and events in his com-munity and sends them to his local newspaper. He reports he has had up

to 6 photos in the newspaper in just one week. Write a short caption for each picture. Have a reference to your program, but do not make a direct sales pitch in the caption. If you can vary the reference, that is even better. For example, a teen program, a senior program, the special event, a differ-ent building, that is even better.

Fire your staffUnderproductive staff could cost you and your entire staff your jobs. That new reality has emerged in just the last few months as the urgency and necessity for programs to be finan-cially self sufficient is now clear. For many institutions, the irony is a deadly one. Some c.e. CEOs say they are not able to transfer staff who are not productive. On the other hand, central administration can eliminate entire c.e. units, including productive staff, with little or no notice. What that means is that continu-ing education decision makers have to be able to fire unproductive staff. Your job now depends on it.

New Certified eMarketer designation is hotRobin McClanahan of the College of Engineering at Colorado State Univer-sity is the latest continuing educator to earn her Certified eMarketing Pro-fessional (CeP) designation. To gain the designation, she took the LERN eMarketing course online, passed the exam, and conducted three eMarket-ing projects. The CeP training is of-fered three times a year, including in-person at the Spring Institutes and twice online, September-October and again in April-May.

Latest Tips in C.E.

Latest Tips

LERN Magazine | Summer 201014 Managing Contract Training Email

Managing Contract Training EmailBy Julia King Tamang LERN Contract Training Consultant

OK, let’s confess. We are all drown-ing in email. I have a love-hate rela-tionship with it. I hate it that I spend two or so hours a day on email. It’s helping my clients (I hope) but it’s ruining my wrists. On the other hand, how much do I love creating an electronic folder and then storing all the emails on a topic or a client in a way that does not require a 5- foot-tall grey steel filing cabinet? If you’ve been in contract train-ing very long, you know that you must have email to communicate with your clients. You really need it on your Blackberry or something-berry in addition to your computer, because your clients need you pretty much 24/7 these days. Here are some tips to help you keep email from running your life, and at the same time to use this wonderful medium to help you give a level of customer care that no one else can match. Get yourself a signature. It will automatically appear then at the end of every email you write and it will save your clients the time to find your name, phone number, Facebook page, URL and so on. Go ahead and put your USP (branding statement) there, too. Be sure that if you send a client a reply, you include the original text that you’re responding to and when possible, keep the entire thread or

conversation down in the body of the email. This allows clients to pull up the latest email and refresh their memory or find a key detail, or send the whole thread to someone else. Remember that the tone of your emails should be cordial, but it is business communication, so watch the tenor. Emails have a way of going places you never intended and meeting people you wish they wouldn’t. They are legal evidence. Create a meaningful subject line that can be searched and keep it for the whole conversation or modify part of it only. For example, one email might say, “Project Manage-ment Class with KTOS” and the next might say, “Project Manage-ment Class with KTOS - Contract.” Ask someone in your department to let you see an email you’ve sent on their PC AND their Mac. How does it look? Do I need a microscope to read it? Does the text overlap your cool graphics? Does it play music when I open it when I am on the phone? Make sure you’re sending a message congruent with your image. An email reply must answer all ques-tions, and pre-empt further questions. If you do not answer all the questions in the original email, you will receive further e-mails regarding the unan-swered questions, which will not only waste your time and your customer’s time, but will cost you business. Don’t overuse the High Priority option. If you overuse the high

priority option, it will lose its func-tion when you really need it. Though it might be OK for your rugby team, when sending an email to a group of people, some people place all the email addresses in the TO: field. There are two drawbacks to this practice: (1) the recipient knows that you have sent the same message to a large number of re-cipients, and (2) you are publicizing someone else’s email address with-out their permission. One way to get around this is to place all addresses in the BCC: field. Use active instead of passive verb voice. For instance, “We will pro-cess your order today’, sounds better than ‘Your order will be processed today.” The first sounds more per-sonal, whereas the latter, especially when used frequently, sounds un-necessarily formal. Your clients are busy. Avoid long, run-on sentences. Keep your sentences to a maximum of 15-20 words. Email is meant to be a quick medium and requires a different kind of writing than letters. If a person receives an email that looks like a dissertation, chances are that they will not read it. This can cause you real problems. And here’s a tip I got from Seth Godin’s blog, “When you go on vacation, set up an auto-reply that says, “I’m on vaca-tion until x/x/2010. When I get back, I’m going to delete all the email that arrived while I was gone, so if this note is important, please send it to me again after that date.”

LERN Magazine | Summer 2010 15Sales 2.0

Sales 2.0 is HereBy Julia King Tamang LERN Contract Training Consultant

It’s an exciting time in Contract Training. The old way of selling is evaporating and the new wave is about to hit. Sales 2.0 is at your door. It’s going to look a little dif-ferent in our industry than it does in some others, but we’ll still benefit from the biggest revolution to hit sales since the 50’s.

What is Sales 2.0?Sales 2.0 utilizes customer-focused selling methods and electronic tools to transform both sales activity and sales results. Following in the footsteps of savvy companies like Amazon, most salespeople in our industry will do a scaled-down ver-sion of Sales 2.0 and still manage to radically increase contracts and other opportunities to serve. Even in a downturn economy, those who make the shift will profit. Time is of the essence.

What’s wrong with Sales 1.0? The way most institutions are sell-ing is working to some degree, but the increased use of technology will shorten cycle time to closing sales and will completely revolutionize “cold-calling” and other methods of lead generation. By using better tools, the increased ability to track effectiveness in contacting the cus-tomer will mean that over time, we will refine our processes until we’re only doing what works.

Building networks of committed customersOur success in contract training has always depended on our ability to build networks and to create rela-tionships. In Sales 2.0, we’ll use social net-working tools like Facebook, Linke-dIn, Twitter, blogs, websites and more to create meaningful, mutually beneficial connections among col-leagues, clients, teachers, consultants and other partners. We’ll create an environment where collaboration is rewarded with opportunity.

How does it work? When your Contract training unit has an online tool to offer articles for download; webinars; podcasts, blog posts and online question and answers, you’ll slowly amass a group of people who get to know you be-cause you offer value. People will offer their email and contact info be-cause they want what you’re offering to share. How many times have you given your contact information to a site that offers a free PDF or e-book in return for your information? If you haven’t yet, you need to begin to explore the new online world of ven-dors who are giving their expertise away to earn the privilege of getting your business. These days you can’t reliably reach a customer on the phone (count on 10 cold calls to get a per-son on the other line, not to mention of an actual prospect) and most face-to-face calls should be reserved for those who have expressed a need for them. This means that we need

another way – a better, cheaper, faster way–to meet our next client. We need to be more visible, in less time, for less money, than ever before. Electronic media are perfect for this! Let’s say, for example, that you have a Facebook page and that this week you let your customers know that you did 4 trainings, two con-sults and that you have an open house on Tuesday of next week. Maybe you also posted links to a good article about social media mar-keting, two testimonials (one written and one 30-second video clip), one best practice you gleaned from a customer comment and a 2-minute YouTube video of one of your hot-shot instructors explaining a key point. Add a live customer chat win-dow (ridiculously cheap and easy to use) and you are a Sales 2.0 hot shot. You’ve successfully delivered sev-eral things of value, and your cus-tomers are clear that a) you’re busy; b) your other clients like your work; c) you’re cutting edge; d) you’re in-terested in the same things they’re interested in, and that you care about their needs and more. If all this leaves you feeling like, “How can I manage this? I barely have time to order books for classes?” you’re probably just not yet familiar enough with how easy social networking tools are and how quickly you can get things up and working for you. I am committed in 2010 to helping you understand the new Sales 2.0 environment and to helping you take whatever steps forward are appropriate for your organization.

LERN Magazine | Summer 201016 Economic Impact Worksheet

Economic ImpactWorksheet for Your Program: Based on Case Study from University of Alabama in Birmingham

With lifelong learning and continuing education programs being increasingly asked to justify their existence and prove the program is central to the mission of your institution, now is a good time to document the economic impact of your program on your local community. Here’s a worksheet that tells you how to do it.

I. Local business volumeA. Non-personnel expenditures for the

fiscal year1. Numbers you need: your non-personnel

budget total

2. 85% of your non-personnel budget (the percentage of those dollars spent in your local area)

B. Personnel expenditures for the fiscal year

3. Your total budget for staff wages and benefits (excluding instructors)

4. Your total wage and benefit budget less withholding = Disposable income

C. Expenditures by Visitors from outside the area (Seminars & Conferences, Spe-cial Events, etc.)

5. Average amount spent per day x the aver-age number of days in the community

D. Expenditures by non-credit/ enrichment class attended

6. Number of participants per year x the average number of sessions per year x average amount (non-fee) spent per ses-sion attended (vending, meals, parking supplies, etc

7. Add 2 + 4 + 5 + 6 to get the direct busi-ness impact on your community. Multiply the sum of 2, 4, 5 and 6 x 3 to determine local business volume generated by your program.

II. Cost Savings to Business and Industry8. Determine the number of people who

regularly participate in fitness-related programs (yoga, aerobics, belly dance, ballroom dance, etc.) in your program

9. Multiply the number of participants by $225 to determine savings in health care costs to local employers.

III. Measure the productivity increases facilitated by your program

10. Determine the average number of profes-sionals who participate in your training programs

11. Determine the average salary for the professionals attending your training programs

12. Multiply the average salary of profes-sional participants (10) x the number of participants (9) x .04 for a conservative estimate of productivity increase. (Stud-ies have found that greater increases can occur).

13. Determine the number of participants you serve in non-credit business classes.

14. Find the average salary of these participants.

15. Multiply the average salary of non-credit business class attendees (13) x the number of participants (12) x .04 for a conservative estimate of productivity increase.

16. Add the numbers you got in items 11 and 14 to determine the total dollars saved in increased productivity.

IV. Total Cost Savings to Business and Industry17. Add items 8 and 15 to determine the total

cost savings in health care and productiv-ity to businesses and industry.

V. Jobs created18. Determine your total non-personnel

expense budget:

19. Multiply your non-personnel expense budget x .45 (based on percentage of total expenditures that are local)

20. Multiply the number in 18 x .00008 to determine how many jobs, in addition to your staff, are created by your organization.

VI. Total personal income to regional residents21. Total salary for instructors x 93.9

(the percent spent in the local area)

VII. Total expansion of local credit base22. Your total budget x .24

(primary credit base expansion)

23. Number in item 22 x 8.1 (secondary credit base expansion)

24. Add 22 + 23 for total credit base expansion

VIII. Total Economic ImpactAdd items 7 + 17 + 21 + 24 to determine total economic impact of your program

LERN Magazine | Summer 2010 17Best Brochure Design in Continuing Education

Best Brochure Design

Owens CC Northwood, OHOwens Community College offers a simple, direct brochure name (WORK) with a contemporary image and great supportive text.

LERN Magazine | Summer 201018 Best Brochure Design in Continuing Education

Best Brochure Design

Kennesaw State U Kennesaw, GAAn exceptional, timely cover from Kennesaw State U, focusing on programs that help students find jobs - and careers. Great “buzz-words” like “Next Wave” and “Fast Track” will capture the attention of Gens X and Y.

LERN Magazine | Summer 2010 19Summer Discount Seats

Discount SeatsAre discounted seats a new trend?Several programs are now reporting big success with limited-time dis-counted seats for classes promoted on web sites and in email. The theory is that your course seats are like airplane seats. After your course takes off, any unused seats are worthless. So getting some-thing is better, sometimes much better, than nothing. Those programs trying the dis-count promotions cite these successes:• Good for down or low enrollment

days. Holidays and other off-peak registration days are good times to offer the discounted classes.

• Good to boost low enrollment classes. At least one programmer reports that following the discount promotion, the same previously low-enrollment classes were pro-moted the next time without any discount, and they filled at the regular prices.

• Good to fill unused seats and meet minimums.

Some success stories follow.

Web site dealsThe Russian Computer Training Center (CTC) in Moscow, Russia, was the first continuing education or lifelong learning program to test discounted seats in their classes. Certain classes, only those with extra seats, are promoted on their web site at discounts that range from 10% to 40%. Not all classes have discounts, just those low-performing classes. The program changes the dis-counts, or eliminates them totally, as

people register at the discounted rate and fill the seats in the class. With the magic of the web, dis-counts can change daily, so you have minute-to-minute flexibility in reduc-ing or eliminating the discount. CTC has been running the dis-counts on its web site consistently for several years, so the strategy works.

Black Friday email Trenda Roch Von Rochsburg of Cottleville, MO, reports a big suc-cess with her “Black Friday” email discount promotion sent out the day after Thanksgiving. She provided a discount for some low-enrollment classes. The low-enrollment classes got a huge bump in registrations and income. Even better, the next session the same classes were promoted only at the regular price, no discount. And the classes, which previously had low enrollments, now are filling for Von Rochsburg.

Twelve Days of ChristmasKathy Brady of Providence, RI, tried a “Twelve Days of Christmas” email campaign that lasted 12 days during the Christmas season. She emailed people every day for 12 days. Every day the discount on certain classes got bigger, ending with a whopping 40% off on the 12th day.She reports a big jump in income for those days, attributable solely to the successful discount campaign.

Twitter TodayHeather Dimitt of Columbia, MO, sent a Twitter message that offered a 20% discount on gift certificates if they bought one by 5 p.m. She got

six responses and considered that a big and no-cost success. She also noted that stores love gift certificates because a number of people never use them, so the 20% discount is often more profitable than regular registrations.

WorriesOther programmers have worries about the discount strategy. They worry that participants might talk to each other and full-priced partici-pants discover that others received the course for less money. They worry that people will just wait to register, expecting discounts to grow the longer they wait. And they wor-ry that discounts will set a precedent and that discounted courses will no longer be able to be offered for full price again. So far none of those worries have been demonstrated by those pro-grams testing discount promotions. Whether fire-sale discounted seats are a new trend for the continuing education and lifelong program-ming industry remains to be seen. But the programs pioneering the strategy report boosts in participants and income, suggesting that other programs will try discounted promo-tions in the future as well.

LERN Magazine | Summer 201020 eMarketing

eMarketingThe number of hits to your web site is not really going to be useful to you in understanding how well your web site functions. The hits may be com-ing from sources not interested in your program at all. So the number of hits, while interesting, is not an indi-cation of the quality visitors to your web site, and certainly not an indica-tion of whether prospective partici-pants are registering with you.Online registrations are also not a good indication of how well your web site is performing. While the number and percentage of registrations that are received online are certainly im-portant to count, online registrations come from a variety of sources, such as your brochure and email. So on-line registrations are not a measure of your web site effectiveness.

What best programs trackThere are statistics the best pro-grams do track, and you should be tracking. These include:

• Conversions of visits to sales

• Search terms used by visitors

• Search terms used for courses you do not offer

• Amount of time spent on your site

• Pages visited and time spent per page/course

• Exit page (last page viewed before leaving your site)

Conversion rates While there is no established bench-mark for sales conversions, LERN recommends that you aim for at least

a 25% conversion rate (course page visits to sales). This is a standard in other industries, and is reasonable as a target for continuing education and lifelong learning programs.

Best measureThe best measure of how well your web site is functioning is to track the number and percentage of people who visit an individual course or event description on your web site, and then register online with you.

Advanced TechniqueseMarketing guru Dan Belhassen provides the details on how to track the registrations gained from your web site. Do one of the following using analytics eCommerce tracking. If you cannot modify your actual online registration process, but you do have access to the course library, you could assign a dollar value to each of your course detail pages (i.e.: $1 each), plus a value to going to the registration form (i.e.: $5). If you do have access to your reg-istration system, you can track the actual value of registration.

How to Create Separate Email ListsWhile programs have been doing email “blasts” for a number of years, more programs are asking how to segment the email lists and provide more targeted emails to each person. For example, here’s a good question from Alana Kaleikini of Irvine, Cali-fornia: “I am getting ready to embark on a more official e-marketing set up. I have over 35,000 e-mail addresses

in my current system. When I launch the software, I want to invite the people to ‘opt in’ to the list they de-sire. I need help making those lists. How many? What to call them? etc. We are a very large rec department that also includes fine arts, animal care center and social services. Where do I start?”

Do opt-out, not opt-inFirst, do not offer people an “opt in” choice. You will unnecessarily lose most of your email list because few people will take the energy to reply. Anyone who has given you their email address should remain on your list. Instead, allow people to opt-out at any time.

Create lists by activity or course categoryNext, create a number of lists by activity or course category. For ex-ample, for a recreation program, those who participated in camp programs, sports leagues, aquatics programs, dance programs, fine arts, animal care, social services, and so on. Ideally you will have 7 different lists, since there are usually 7 differ-ent categories of programming that give a program 80% of its income and surplus.

Use past purchasing criterionNow put email addresses into one or more of your lists based on whether the person has taken a course in that area in the past. Using past purchas-ing behavior is much better than an interest survey or asking people what they want to receive. There are a number of problems with interest surveys. One is the low response rate. Another is the staff time re-quired. But the most important rea-son is that what people do is more important than what they say.

LERN Magazine | Summer 2010 21Best Brochure Design in Continuing Education

Best Brochure Design

Fanshawe College St. Thomas, OntarioFanshawe College does it again, with a striking cover image sure to capture attention. Excellent supportive tag line, with good emphasis on the web address.

LERN Magazine | Summer 201022 Best Brochure Design in Continuing Education

Best Brochure DesignFleming College Peterborough, OntarioAn inviting and fun graphic with a good tag line pre-sented in an equally fun way work well for this Fleming College cover. The background adds to the effectiveness, with inter-esting graphics and good “buzzwords” – Success, Confidence, Choice, Ad-vancement.

LERN Magazine | Summer 2010 23Teaching Online

Latest advanced tips for teaching onlineCreate a Learning BudgetWhenever I take an online course, I create what I call a “learning budget.” The day I receive my sylla-bus, I sit down with a calendar and map out a reading schedule, project schedule, and paper schedule for the entire semester. With my learning budget, I knew exactly how many pages of each book I had to read a day – it was a great way to not feel overwhelmed and stay on track. If any of my students seem to be hav-ing a time management issue, I am going to encourage them to use this learning budget to see if it helps. – Lauren Nobles

When students are lostWhen students are lost in your on-line course and do not even know what to ask you, here’s what to do, says Mary Dereshiwsky, COI, of Northern Arizona University. “I gently suggest that we start with one thing. Can they point me to one spe-cific part of the book/assignment in-structions where they are feeling lost or confused? I think this helps them also learn good study habits. They discover that learning new ideas, especially tough ones, go much more smoothly by breaking down the learning into manageable bites.”

Online Discussion Not for Everyone“Discussion is not for everyone,” says L.A. Holmes. “As an instruc-tor I continually see my colleagues praising online discussion, but we need to remember that not every student learns from social interac-tion. Not every student wants to be involved in discussion; some are un-social. We need to be careful that we remember the non-social minority as we teach, and offer them a path for-ward too.” Try giving alternative assignments to measure learning and knowledge to those who are not engaging in online discussion. The important point is to measure learning, not just participation.

For Gen Y, a Different Definition of “Expert”Generation Y is exploring a differ-ent definition of “expert.” Faculty member Rebecca Johnson tells us, “My son in college seeks informa-tion from the experts online as well as his instructors, and participates in forums of like-minded people, etc. His allegiance is to the expert, not the college or the classroom.” “I actually had a lengthy discus-sion with my son about how he determines credibility. He does pay attention to the academic and ex-perience credentials of the ‘expert’

online, but, and this is key, he pays a great deal of attention to the discus-sion that follows the expert’s claim.”

Embedding YouTube into BlackboardIn Youtube, find the Embed link, says Kara Monroe. Copy this link. Normally just click in the Embed box and it will highlight the entire link - you won’t need to scroll. In Blackboard, click the <> button in the visual textbox editor (where you add items, etc.). This will give you the HTML editor. Just paste the link you copied from Blackboard and then submit your item.

Encouraging Earlier Online ResponsesOne problem online teachers ex-perience is trying to get students to make comments early in the week. Emily Christensen says, “To increase earlier responses and com-ments for students to reply to, ex-cuse the person who begins a thread with a comment.” In that way, a student who makes a comment early in the week gets the discus-sion going earlier in the week and is rewarded by not having to reply or respond to other comments later in the week. She also gives points for comments made earlier in the week.

From our advanced teaching online course recently with more than 120 participants, here are the newest practical tips for teaching online.

LERN Magazine | Summer 201024 Digital Brochures/Your Job is Changing

19 Reasons to do digital brochures This fall LERN will provide free digital brochure software for LERN members at the LERN conference in Chicago Nov 6-8. Here are the 19 reasons: 1. Create “interactive” course descriptions 2. Collect data 3. Provide additional informa- tion about courses 4. Tell people how many are in the class 5. Instantly inform if class is filled 6. Add audio and video 7. Link directly to registration information and page 8. Search by keyword/ instructor/topic/date 9. People get immediate confirmation of enrollment 10. You can track the courses your participants click/even if they don’t register11. Provide a calendar with all courses to print out12. Instantly e-mail brochure in response to inquiries13. Provide maps and directions without taking up valuable real-estate in your brochure14. Have every page in full-color at minimal cost15. People can e-mail your entire brochure to a friend16. People can download your brochure17. Monitor enrollments based on age, geography18. Convenience, convenience, convenience19. You can see what they searched for—even if you don’t offer it

By William A. Draves LERN President

An historic week took place late this spring for the field of continuing education and lifelong learning.

To sum it up: this decade will be entirely different from the last de-cade, demanding new skills and re-quiring a new knowledge of how the 21st century is different from the last century.

First, the senior LERN leaders met in Tucson. Many are top practitioners in the business.

Here’s what they did:Number One. They created stan-dards for the field. Guidelines for social media for staff. Standards for certificates and certifications, the fastest-growing area of continuing education.

Number Two. They changed the field. They called for the implemen-tation of the International Learning Unit across all LERN member pro-grams. In the face of the recent IRS crackdown, they called for a national campaign in both Canada and the United States to defend and promote continuing education and lifelong learning.

Second, the Executive Leadership Institute followed the LERN Leader Retreat in Tucson. We had triple the attendance we anticipated, with CEOs from 22 states and provinces.

What those CEOs of continuing edu-cation and lifelong learning heard was that their jobs will be drastically different in the next 3-5 years.

If you are a leader in your program you will need to:A. Create new staffing positions.

We’re not talking about adding staff. We’re saying that in five years up to half of all job de-scriptions in our field will be dif-ferent from what they are today.

B. You have to change yourself. We have always led our institutions in change. But now the changes are so life-shaking and huge, we have to change ourselves.

C. Capture new markets and audi-ences. Gen Y is the biggest and most critical audience we have to capture.

D. Redesign programs and product mix. The advent of online learn-ing is just one example.

These two hugely successful events went a long way to define the future of our field for the next 3-5 years. What it means is that this decade will be entirely different from the last decade. It is demanding new skills from you and your staff. Your job is changing, and needs to change for your program to continue to be relevant and successful in the second decade of the 21st century.

Your Job is Changing

LERN Magazine | Summer 2010 25Faculty Development/Workforce

From the latest LERN Faculty De-velopment Institute, here are the top five ‘next’ developments in faculty development:5. Online teaching. Mandatory

orientation in online teaching for faculty

4. Special needs. Training for faculty about students with special needs

3. Social Media. Teaching faculty about teaching and learning with social media

2. Gender. Teaching faculty about gender in the classroom

1. Outcomes. Teaching faculty to measure outcomes

The range, variety and newly added topics to the list (for example, social media) suggest that faculty develop-ment will continue to grow both in terms of time devoted to it, and importance, in institutions of higher education.

First faculty developers certifiedMore than 30 faculty developers from around the U.S. became the first Certified Faculty Developers, gaining the designation CFD from the Learning Resources Network. All passed an exam after attending the latest Faculty Development Insti-tute in Savannah.

The faculty developers came from 24 states. Those getting the CFD des-ignation included faculty developers from a range of institutions, including the University of Alaska, Joint Forces Staff College, Gallaudet University, John Tyler Community College, and University of Minnesota.

Marketing the Answer to Faculty “Buy in”Good marketing of faculty develop-ment is the answer to the top issue in faculty development today, says William A. Draves, one of the four instructors for the new Certified Faculty Developer (CFD) institute.

What’s Next for Faculty Development

Women in the Workforce Women in the Workforce63.3% of women age 16-24 worked in 1998 versus 43.9% in 1950.

76.3% of women age 25-34 worked in 1998 versus 34.0% in 1950.

77.1% of women age 35-44 worked in 1998 versus 39.1% in 1950.

76.2% of women age 45-54 worked in 1998 versus 37.9% in 1950.

51.2% of women age 55-64 worked in 1998 versus 27% in 1950.

8.6% of women age 65+ worked in 1998 versus 9.7% in 1950. (compared to 16.8% of men. In 1950, the ratio was 45.8% of men and only 9.7% of women in the workforce after age 65)Source: U.S. Department of Labor: Changes in Women’s Work Participation

AbsenteeismAs you might expect because of home and family matters, “in 1998, about 4% of full-time workers were absent from their job during an av-erage work week — meaning they

worked less than 35 hours during the week because of injury, ill-ness, or a variety of other reasons. About 5.1% of women were absent in the average week, compared with 2.7% of men. Among those ab-sent, women were somewhat more likely to be absent for reasons other than injury or illness. One third of women’s compared with less than one-quarter of men’s absences were attributed to other reasons.”Source: U.S. Department of Labor: Women’s Absenteeism

LERN Magazine | Summer 201026 What’s New at LERN

The LERN Senior Leadership, the top practitioners in the field, outlined an ambitious plan for the future of lifelong learning (LL) at their Tuc-son retreat this spring.

Among the decisions:• A national campaign to defend

and support the field• Certificate and certification

standards• Social media guidelines for staff.• LERN-wide adoption of the ILU• Research division to be formed

Harker, Marshall Join BoardPerry Harker of Carteret College in North Carolina and Greg Marshall of Whatcom Community College in Washington have been elected to the LERN Board of Directors.

Miera Elected Chair-ElectJoe Miera of the University of New Mexico has been elected Chair-Elect of the LERN Board of Directors.

Finley Picked for Council ChairMarquetta Finley of Tulsa Commu-nity College has been named Chair of the Community College Council, succeeding Perry Harker, who was elected to the Board.

Institutes set recordLERN Institutes for 2010 set a new attendance record of more than 160 people total attending the Spring Institutes, Summer Institutes, and Executive Leadership Institute.

LERN 2000-2009 AccomplishmentsCelebrating LERN’s top ten accom-plishments in the first decade of the 21st century, here are our picks for the biggest achievements, compiled by LERN’s co-founder Greg Marsello. 1. Finances. LERN generates $20,000,000+ in sales and $1,000,000+ in surplus. Cash assets now exceed $1,000,000 and LERN is financially stable, debt-free, and self-funds growth initiatives. LERN successfully adjusts to economic downturns. 2. Conference Numbers. While other associations see a downturn in Conference registrations, LERN con-tinues to draw attendees. San Fran-cisco Conference tops 1,000! 3. Lumens. In conjunction with Augusoft, LERN develops the first web-based lifelong learning man-agement system for the continuing, community, and corporate education industry. Over 100 programs now use Lumens. 4. Virtual Office. LERN becomes fully virtual with “offices” in WI, KS, OR, RI, MI, MN, WA, NC, MD, and Bangalore. LERN’s virtual office serves as the association’s internal communication and document/his-tory storage tool. 5. Nine Shift. The Nine Shift philosophy and predictions guide LERN’s transition into the 21st cen-tury. LERN not only provides mem-bers how-to technical assistance, but an exciting and accurate image of 2000-2020. 6. Technical Assistance Leader-ship. LERN remains three years+ ahead of the industry. Generational

learning, marketing, and management; eMarketing; social networking; and digital brochures are a few examples. 7. Data. Data. Data. To better sup-port members and understand indus-try trends, LERN builds software data analysis tools such as Segmenting, Carrier Route, Next Course Tools. 8. UGotClass. LERN’s online education platform works success-fully for LERN online courses and is rolled out to support LERN online courses other lifelong learning orga-nizations can offer and build. 9. Certifications. Starting with the CPP, LERN certifications be-come the education qualifications (COI, CeP) and performance stan-dards (Program Review & Certifica-tion) for the industry. International Learning Units are developed to replace CEUs and move learning from seat time to outcomes. 10. Information to Solutions. Lifelong learning programs lean on LERN for practical and strategic rec-ommendations to improve their per-formance and ensure the survival of their programs. LERN helps program restructure, redesign promotions, analyze data, and much more.

What’s New at LERN

LERN Leaders met in Tucson to plan the direction of continuing education.

LERN Leaders Plan Future

LERN Annual ConferenceNovember 6–8, 2010 Chicago!

eMarketing Managing Change Profitability

New! THREE THEMES – 70 ADVANCED, PRACTICAL, HOW-TO TOPICS

This Year’s SuperStars

Gareth MitchellDirect from London! “Digital Planet”

BBC Radio Host

Johnny Campbell“Becoming the Agent of Change”

The Transition Man

Ryan PaughCo-founder The Brazen Careerist

Career web site for Gen Y

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