June 2009 Newsletter

Feature Articles

ed2go & Madonna University Graduate Credit Program

ed2go and Madonna University, a recognized higher education institution, are pleased to announce their partnership that offers graduate credit to education professionals. Students looking to renew their certificates and increase their salaries can now earn graduate credit by taking an approved Teacher Professional Development Online Course.

Participants will earn one graduate credit for each 15 clock hours of learning. Since each ed2go Online Course is 24 hours of learning, students will earn one graduate credit and can apply the remaining nine hours towards a second graduate credit.

How the program works:

1. Students enroll and pay for a Teacher Professional Development Online Course at your ed2go site. Registration instructions will be e-mailed to students upon enrolling.
2. Within two weeks of beginning the course, students will register and pay with Madonna University via an online registration or downloadable PDF registration form. Payment must be sent directly to Madonna University. Each credit is $150.
3. After completing the course, students will submit a short assignment and their Certificate of Completion to Madonna University, who will issue the credit.
   To learn more about this opportunity, please visit here.

Where are the ARRA Funds Going?

Getting the Most out of the Workforce Investment Act, a feature in the ed2go March partner newsletter, discussed Workforce Investment Funding (WIA). The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) budgeted a significant amount of funding to all three major workforce sectors – WIA Adult, WIA Dislocated Worker, and WIA Youth. This funding provides the perfect opportunity for partners to offer the ed2go Online Courses and ed2go|GES Online Career Training Programs to individuals in need of career training.

The article referenced the amount each sector received, but exactly how are the ARRA funds being allocated? The Wall Street Journal created a detailed analysis of the stimulus spending by state to help show exactly where the dollars are going. For example, California, Texas, and New York received the largest amount of education funds, for a combined amount of over $21 Billion, and California, Texas, and Michigan received a combined amount of $930 Million. Click here to review the spending.

Also check out the Department of Labor Recovery Web site for up-to-date reporting statistics from federal agencies who are receiving Recovery Act funds. The ARRA Funding by state is broken down into spending for the following agencies:

• WIA Youth Activities
• WIA Adult Activities
• WIA Dislocated Workers

Click here to view the entire report.

There are many people using WIA funding. We receive e-mails daily from potential students wanting to take these online classes so that they can get back to work, improve their skills, and make a better life for their families. Submitting your ed2go|GES offerings for WIA approval is a way to help individuals as well to improve the state of your local economy.

ed2go Featured Partner

Each month we will share stories about how we work together with partners to increase enrollments and generate additional revenue in order to bring online learning to more students.

Portland Community College
This month, we are highlighting Portland Community College (Portland CC), who was recently recognized as the first recipient of ed2go’s National IMPACT Award. This monetary award was granted to Portland CC due to the College’s uniquely strong commitment to community outreach, workforce development, and student access through online learning opportunities.

As one of the top performing ed2go partners over the last several years, Portland CC consistently implements innovative practices to further develop their ed2go partner relationship. For example, Portland CC plans to donate the IMPACT Award to their College’s Foundation in efforts to acquire matching funds and create a scholarship fund for future Portland CC/ed2go Participants. This effort is the first of its kind and underscores innovation as a key and replicable asset to the College.