Here are the five factors for success with Facebook, the social media used by 100% of lifelong learning programs recently surveyed by LERN.

He’s kinda famous. Ken E. Nwadike Jr is a peace activist, inspirational speaker, video journalist, and founder of the Free Hugs Project.

Slamming home the fact that LERN is leading the field of lifelong learning, your Senior LERN Leaders met in Chicago recently to plot 8 new exciting expansion plans for you and LERN.

Gen Z spans roughly the years from 2000 to 2015. Using these dates as guidelines, the oldest members of Gen Z are just now entering higher education and the workforce.

Want to increase your income 10% and have even more satisfied customers? No you don’t. Ahead in so many ways, your program is behind in a huge area: your refund policy.

A webinar with Dr. Kim Becicka of Kirkwood Community College coming up this June 5th.

Over 120 people attended recently attended LERN’s Contract Training Conference in Chicago.

With 1-of-4 employee absences due to mental stress, begin marketing your avocational and leisure courses to business now, says Julie Coates, LERN Senior Vice President.

Email is the workhorse of marketing for lifelong learning programs, a new LERN study of the most successful lifelong learning programs in all institutional settings finds.

This year’s conference will be at the fabulous beautiful Paradise Point Resort in San Diego, from November 19-22, 2019.

Paper prices have increased, just as LERN warned you.

Do you millennials want a different approach to professional networking at the big LERN annual conference?

Here are the latest new articles in the LERN Club for this month.

The next recession looks like an 18 month recession, beginning as soon as this year, and probably between 2019-2021. LERN predicted the last great recession in an article published in The New York Times, January 6, 2006.

A major marketing strategy for all lifelong learning programs right now is to move people from one medium to another to increase registrations.

Chicago – March 19 – 22

Only half of you reading this have the knowledge and skills to run a successful lifelong learning program.

Overall, lifelong learning programs in North America are doing well in serving their communities. You are adjusting to the new economy and the millennial generation’s different needs.

Here’s what’s ahead for 2019. The big forecast is the absolute must-have plan for your program in addressing a possible recession. See our separate story and get our special report on planning for a recession in the LERN Club.

Paper prices for your upcoming 2019 print brochures may be going up by as much as 25%, according to news reports, LERN Senior Vice President Julie Coates says.

“Creating new classes and offerings” was the top vote getter as attendees in Savannah cast almost 1,000 votes on what new and updated topics they wanted covered in LERN’s new CPP Refresher Course.

Registrations for UGotClass were up a whopping 10% in 2018 over the previous year, setting yet another record for registrations.

Conference coverage starts now. A new pioneering study on Integrated Marketing for the field of lifelong learning is being released at the LERN Annual Conference in Savannah Nov 6-9.

A breakthrough new book, Invisible Diversityby LERN’s Julie Coates, is premiering at the big LERN annual conference in Savannah the morning of November 8.

With increased stress, tension and the need for better mental health among people today, hobbies, leisure and enrichment classes are assuming an even bigger importance to society right now.

“Where did you hear about us? “

Here’s the hot topics with lifelong learning programs this fall.

Here are the latest new articles in the LERN Club for this month.

Now is the time to submit your new and innovative technique for an International LERN Award.

The Fall 2018 LERN Magazine, relevant for all lifelong learning programs, is now in the LERN Club.

Join us for an exciting upcoming webinar on writing course descriptions from Julie Coates!

The latest update for the 2018 LERN Annual Conference

This fall promises to be an exciting few months where successful practitioners take the field of Integrated Marketing to a new level of understanding what works, and how.

Leadership authorities say empowerment is a critical leadership skill today.

This is a key month for the 21stcentury. If Net Neutrality is killed in the United States, as is the federal government’s plan, it would hurt lifelong learning programs and other non-profits big time.

Discover a whole new learning experience, then use LERN’s original new Engaged Session format to redesign some of your activities to be more active and learner engaged.

With funding and institutional support issues, successful lifelong learning programs have discovered the more centralized their operational tasks, the more increase in staff productivity.

In LERN’s exclusive survey of lifelong learning programs using different social media, Facebook continues to be #1.

LERN celebrates 20 years of being virtual, blowing up our 10,000 square foot national headquarters office in Manhattan, Kansas.

With virtually every organization now involved or even dependent on programming, managing or working with programmers is now an important part of the workplace toolkit.

An executive level webinar on how to present your view and information with charts to make your case.

Lifelong learning is more important to our individual lives, our community and our society than ever before.

If you haven’t encountered an online chat with a bot, you will soon, says Dan Belhassen, one of the foremost authorities in online learning and web technology.  “And if you are with a lifelong learning provider, this is the future of how you’ll be interacting with your customers, and how you’ll personally be interacting with

A historic Senior LERN Leader meeting last month in Chicago will improve the professionalism of the entire field of lifelong learning. Your LERN leaders decided to move forward with both program certification and professional certification renewal. PROGRAM CERTIFICATION Leaders endorsed LERN creating a program certification for member organizations to be certified by LERN. Leaders will

Latest conference news about the big exciting LERN annual conference in Savannah Nov. 6-9, 2018. 8 Hotels from Which to Choose We have eight hotels, all right downtown in the historic architectural area, and all within just three blocks from the riverfront and River Street and ferry. You get to choose which hotel, based on

Discover what data to collect and how to generate the reports.

Want to know what is new in course programming, marketing, and operations…attend this Webinar!

In a recent survey of LERN Members, 25 percent of those who responded said they are considering changing their social media strategy due to the recent data issues surrounding Facebook. Of the 382 people who responded, 287 or 75 percent said they are not currently thinking about changing their social media strategy. It was recently

The only design trend that stands the test of time is simplicity. Refreshing, revamping and renovating websites can be a costly endeavor but lifelong learning and continuing education websites that hold up year after year without looking outdated are those that keep it simple. High-quality images, minimal menu options, memorable URL’s, and limited copy all

The top ideas for achieving goals in 2018, as chosen by your LERN Leaders. #5 Encourage and allow staff to dedicate time to professional development. Suggested by Scott River, Olympia, WA. #4 Create manuals for core processes so everyone knows how key tasks are completed, such as registration, cancellations, refunds, hiring, etc. Suggested by Michael

Videos have now joined social media, print brochure, your website and email to compose the Big 5 promotion media.

The reluctance to change has significantly diminished over the past three years, LERN has discovered in its recent consulting. As a result, there has been a dramatic increase in employees, staff, and leaders who want more change, not less. The two forces opening the door to change wider are: 1. The outmoded institutional structure of

A new year is here and with it comes an opportunity to set new professional goals and intentions. Here are seven ways you can set yourself (and your program) up for success in 2018. Review 2017 We get so busy it can be difficult to find time to thoroughly and honestly assess what we’re doing

Here are three of the top 10 best promotion ideas our panel of experts reported on at the big LERN annual conference recently in Portland.  Look for more of the best how-to advanced and practical information in the LERN Club. Paul Franklin: Give more brochure space to star programs and high-cost programs. Franklin explains, “I

  When it comes to you and your staff’s professional development, it’s not magic, it’s LERN.  All 7 of the Spring 2018 Institutes begin February 5, 2018, and will feature the proven and tested curriculum for the field of lifelong learning. You and your staff know only about 50 percent of what you need to

From the big LERN Annual Conference, your LERN Leaders submitted their best ideas of the year.  Here are some of the best customer tips.  Conference coverage continues in the LERN Club; check it out for more FREE great practical ideas. Remain kind and professional.  Always. Submitted by Beth Pinargote, Glencoe, IL When meeting with clients,

Over the next 10 years, every person on staff is a leader, influencing change. LERN has identified three new components that constitute change-oriented leadership for the next 10 years. A recent LERN consultation with a LERN member organization confirmed the three primary aspects of what constitutes change-oriented leadership for the next 10 years; and what

For the first time at the 2018 Contract Training Conference this March in Chicago, LERN will be presenting Contract Training Awards. The LERN Contract Training Awards recognize LERN member Contract Training Teams for exemplary use of contract training best practices. Although there are no specific submission categories, the following are example award submission areas: sales

Raise the volume and advocate for your lifelong learning program even more loudly in 2018. We are now in a critical phase of transformation of your institution, and the role of your lifelong learning program in your institution moving forward. Here’s how to do it: Raise the volume. Raise the volume on highlighting your program’s

This year the LERN Annual Conference was changed forever.  Gen Yers and LERN leaders initiated the transition to a more engaged and active conference.  The new session formats were met with huge approval by the almost 700 lifelong learning practitioners in attendance. It almost assuredly guarantees that your classes and courses will also be changed

Each year LERN performs more than 20 Program Reviews. A LERN Program Review is an informal review of your continuing education or lifelong learning unit. Attend a free, informational webinar – Program Review: Position Your Unit for Success – and understand: How a LERN Program Review works, as well as LERN’s support with recommendation implementation The data,

The future of lifelong learning may very well be educational gaming. In a stunningly insightful and fun keynote before 700 LERN conference attendees, former Intel game developer Scott Crabtree reported on the science of learning based on games and outlined the four key intrinsic motivators for work, games and learning. Then he took the audience

Everyone is creative but not everyone is effectively tapping into their creativity, says Senior LERN consultant Kassia Dellabough. Dellabough says tapping into your creativity is important because it helps improve problem-solving skills, allows for greater flexibility, and can lead to new ideas. She suggests trying one of the following tactics – even better if you

Here’s the youngest attendee, the oldest program represented, and the attendee who traveled the furthest: Youngest.   The youngest attendee at the big LERN conference was Aaron Swets, son of Christina Swets of the Chicago Botanic Gardens.  Aaron was two months old. Oldest Program. The person from the oldest program represented was Karen Schaivone of the fabled

Gen Y LERN leaders on the Emerging Leaders Council were central in initiating, approving and doing the all-new Engaged Session format and other more interactive conference sessions that premiered this year. Some Gen Y attendees also enjoyed a Portland pub crawl led by Ally Nguyen of San Francisco.

The schedule for the 2018 Contract Training Conference is available and registration is officially open.

The exciting agenda has been finalized for the big LERN Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon, November 15-18, 2017. A sneak preview – the PDF of the final brochure – has been emailed. If you did not get a copy, go to www.lern.org/conference   or email us at info@lern.org You save $100 by registering by August 1.

Our popular 4-webinar series on Summer Camps featuring top practitioners is back with all-new, advanced webinars with the latest updates. Camp season is in full swing but soon it will be time to get the latest info for a successful summer in 2018. Get advanced info you need to maximize your Return on Investment in

LERN Leaders meeting in Chicago this spring approved of a LERN campaign for c.e. units in higher education to document what percentage of their noncredit students later enroll in a credit or degree program at their institution. The effort also can be applied to documenting the value of community education in public schools and recreation

Suddenly in the last few months, the practice of engaging learners more in the learning experience has blossomed. The new learning format is now being seen in all formats, from in-person events and classes to online activities and even webinars.  This moves active or engaged learning to the forefront of lifelong learning programs for the

Your LERN Club’s first online discussion was a hit! The question was whether you should collect gender from your customers for marketing purposes, especially now that M/F is suddenly incomplete. See Katie Lynch-Morin’s analysis of the discussion in the LERN Club articles, then click on the Discussion thread to see all the comments. Membership continues

by Jeffrey S Russell, University of Wisconsin-Madison People concerned about the environment often remind us to “reuse, repurpose, and recycle.” In fact, recycling is a great way to make more efficient and effective use of finite resources. With that in mind, continuing education leaders might consider taking a page out of the environmentalist playbook. In

Leslie Kowalczyk, Director of UGotClass Services, is back from maternity leave with a new assistant.  Kai will be working alongside Leslie for the foreseeable future. Cheri Brenna, our other customer service UGotClass staffer, is still not back full time after being hit by a car. If some of your students did not receive prompt service

“There is a new conversation among neuroscientists that the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be an evolutionary change of the human mind,” noted Julie Coates in a pioneering new presentation on Students with ASD at LERN’s Faculty Development Conference this spring. One in 68 students is now on the spectrum, according to the Center for

The most comprehensive library of materials and information in continuing education is now open after two years of work. Over 800 guidebooks, books, manuals, articles, archived webinars and original training presentations with slides are now available. The new online service converts all of LERN’s paid print publications into a digital format so that up to