Step 2: Progress- and Success-focused Program Design
Use Delivery Systems and Format That Make the Learning Accessible to the Target Population
What was once considered to be an innovation in adult learning is now standard practice at most, if not all, higher education institutions. To increase access to adults and working students, many programs are offered on schedules conducive to a 9-to-5 worker’s schedule, for example, in the evenings or on weekends. Even with the many offerings with non-traditional schedules, there are still programs that presume that students are not working full time, such as nursing programs and automotive training (Goldberger et al, 2005).
Offering programs on weekends or evenings may not solve the time problem for every worker – some workers have schedules that can be unpredictable in terms of time of day (e.g. retail) and/or day of the week (e.g. healthcare). District 1199C Training and Upgrading Fund has addressed this problem by making its Learning Center available seven days a week, fourteen hours a day to accommodate the various schedules in healthcare.
Even when training is offered at a convenient time, sometimes the location of the training can create barriers if transportation is an issue or if the travel time to and from training is more than people can add to already busy schedules. To remove this barrier, some training programs are located at the worksite, if there are enough trainees to make that offering worthwhile to the training provider. Common onsite programs include GED and ESL programs as well as customized training programs, apprenticeship programs, and other career ladder programs.
Another strategy for making learning more accessible is to offer a range of delivery methods for certain courses of study. For example, Macomb Community College’s Workforce Development Institute offers the delivery options of:
- Instructor-led classroom instruction
- On-site or off-site
- e-Learning/Online learning/Web-based learning
- Hands-on labs and situational learning
- Computer based CD-ROM training
- Interactive distance learning
- Blended learning (Online, instructor led, & hands-on)
These options are designed to make learning as accessible as possible, even for people who work unusual or unpredictable hours. Other strategies to consider are accelerated or compressed learning programs, in which the curriculum is designed to allow adults to complete the program quickly (Henle et al, 2005). The innovations of Accelerated Learning Programs and Online Learning are described in greater detail.
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