Special Section: Business Resource Guide

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Business Resource Guide

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Business Resource Guide

For more information about education opportunities at IWU, visit indwes.edu or call (866) 498-4968

A Legacy of Changing Lives at Indiana Wesleyan University

I

n 1985, Indiana Wesleyan University recognized that access to higher education was difficult for a working adult learner.

In response, the university pioneered a philosophy of removing barriers and creating an educational learning experience that focused on the needs of the learner more than the conventional structure of a college.

Trips to a bookstore, daytime classes and degrees that could take five to 10 years were

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all common practice, so the university decided to bring the learning experience and the learning tools as close to the learner as possible.

In the early days, this resulted in entire degree programs offered in factories, offices and learning centers. As technology advanced, Indiana Wesleyan was able to take these same programs and make them available online to our students.

Now the university serves students all over the world with more than 90 online and onsite programs designed to fit the life of a busy, working adult.

Student-focused education opportunities As a nonprofit institution, Indiana Wesleyan is committed to providing an education that develops students in character, scholarship and leadership.

Since the university doesn’t have to focus on shareholder value, it can invest energies more completely into loving students and changing lives.

Adult students want their learning experience to be more than transactional. IWU has an approach that recognizes this.

Adults are managing life issues as well as their educational goals. Realizing this, IWU established a unique chaplaincy program that comes alongside a student when life happens outside of the classroom. The university has also developed a cohort model that gives students extra support by creating community among their peers.

These personal relationships give students a more “traditional” learning experience within the convenience of flexible learning models.

Serving our community in Columbus With a physical presence in Columbus at its Columbus Education and Conference Center, Indiana Wesleyan has the privi-

lege of serving both students and the local community in classroom spaces. The vision is to meet educational needs wherever they exist, so IWU has designed its education and conference centers to be spaces of connection and community, serving both students and neighbors.

Students who choose the onsite learning format enjoy the flexibility of one-nightper-week classes at education centers where they can meet with faculty and classmates to experience a more traditional learning experience. Centers are equipped with comfortable spaces, friendly staff and the latest technology, so students can have the best educational experiences possible.

IWU offers multiple onsite programs at the Columbus Education and Conference Center, but centers are more than just classrooms. The university also opens doors to the community for conferences, meetings and workshops where the school is capable of setting up events, arranging catering and providing technical support. All 15 education and conference centers across Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky are uniquely equipped to serve IWU’s community.

3 Things to Know • Our highly qualified faculty

members are experienced in their fields and know how to provide students the skills and knowledge to excel.

• We started with only four

degree programs and 150 students. We now have over 90 programs and 9,000 students enrolled in our online and onsite programs.

• Indiana Wesleyan Univer-

sity offers online and onsite programs for every education level, from certificates to doctoral degrees and everything in between.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Business Resource Guide

ment in the future success of your organization. A friendly, experienced staff is dedicated to meeting and exceeding your workforce education, development, and training needs.

Think of the WDIC at COTC as your solution strategy center!

3 Things to Know

Innovative Workforce Solutions and Strategic Alliances

W

e hear you! Your immediate workforce development needs span soft-skill and leadership development; advanced technical credentialing; and skilled worker shortfalls.

Advancing those with potential and attracting others into your sector is also on your mind, so Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) is diligently forming strategic alliances with business and industry leaders just like you to provide the technical education, professional development and customized training that equips your current and future labor force with the skills necessary to meet your current and future needs.

COTC’s Workforce Development Innovation Center (WDIC) is at the forefront of workforce training, giving you a competitive advantage by providing innovative solutions that are: • Cost-effective; • Tailored as non-credit, forcollege-credit, or credit-eligible; • Delivered by experienced

industry experts on your schedule; • Offered at your site, at one of COTC’s four campus locations or at another location; • Steeped in valuing prior learning and work experience for those interested in potential college credit.

Here are just a few examples of solutions we actively offer: • Industry-recognized credentials and upskilling; • Management & leadership development; • Environmental, safety & health certification; • Technical skills and computer training; • Apprenticeships models… and much more!

As the WDIC develops strategies to enhance the skills, performance and productivity of your current and future workforce, the institution also is committed to poising our traditional students for success in high-demand careers and addressing the workforce shortage.

The WDIC provides workforce education to hundreds of participants each year and

furthers COTC’s mission “to meet the technical education and training needs of students and employers in the area.”

Your employees are the lifeline of your business, and investing in them is an invest-

• Attention manufacturers: Consider a customized program or apprenticeship-style model like the examples listed, but tailored just for your team and work schedule: Applied Machine Shop Math; Basic Measurement and Quality Assurance; Blueprint Reading; Cutting/Tooling, Manual Lathe/Mill Operations, Surface Grinders Or Circuits I (Basic Electricity: DC, Problem Solving and Troubleshooting, Batteries, Basic Test Equipment) and Circuits II: (Basic Electricity: AC, Transformers, Problem Solving and Troubleshooting); Hydraulics and Pneumatics; Instrumentation and Measurement; Dynamics and Control; Basic AutoCAD; Electric Motors and Digital Electronics • Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders Today and Manufacturing Leaders in Manufacturing are just a couple of the stackable course approaches that provide interactive, customized training to assist recently promoted supervisors and managers, or those with recognized potential, in their transition from front-line to leadership.

For more information, contact: Vicki Maple, M.Ed., Vice President for Workforce Development, Community Affairs, The Gateway & Extended Campuses 740.364.9565 or VMaple@COTC.edu Online, find out more at www.cotc.edu/wdic

• Research will be available soon on The Technical College’s Role in Bridging the Workforce Gap: A Multi-Case Study on Engineering Technology-Based Employers. The objective of this study was to develop a deeper understanding of how the engineering technology workforce shortage and skills gap can be influenced by efforts of the local technical/community college.

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