About the Learning Collaborative

Addressing the constantly changing needs of schools, colleges, private institutions (all educational institutions and organizations), The Learning Collaborative Inc. is a non profit research and development organization. It consists of independent thinkers including school superintendents, college faculty, elementary and secondary teachers, curriculum designers, authors, and other creative people. The Collaborative partners create, design and operate innovative degree and/or certification programs through accredited institutions of higher education. Funded primarily through grants, tuition, and in-kind institutional contributions, programs operate under the joint academic aegis of the cooperating institution and the Collaborative. Upon full and successful development and evaluation of the offering a cooperating institution is provided with exciting and current degree programs (under licensing agreements). The Collaborative members continue their involvement with the cooperating institutions.

Program Organization and Structure

Talented and diversely creative professional educators operate in "think tank" mode. Programs are considered works in progress for the purpose of continuous evolution and improvement. Program operations are constantly changing to reflect current best practice, and are dedicated to the learning goals of participants. Collaborative teams develop learning environments that incorporate contemporary thought from myriad sources, bringing together structural elements that provide learning opportunities for implementation in classrooms, clinical settings, and informal venues.

The Organizational Structure

A non-profit organization, approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501c3, the Collaborative functions in service to educational institutions, and creates formal learning processes directly with clients. Six directors, in concert with more than 35 professional contributors, create, organize, institute, and operate graduate programs. The Collaborative is structured to promote and develop academically and fiscally responsible degree programs which respond to institutional needs for establishing meaningful programming. The programs evolve to be managed by a host institution. All Collaborative programs are proprietary, being copyrighted and registered.

Program Characteristics and Scheduling

All Collaborative programs are initially created as Cohort designs. Participants are admitted in groups that stay together throughout the program. They form an intimate community of learners. Successful program completion is nearly guaranteed as a function of peer teaching and peer support through the cohort process. More than a decade of operating cohort programs has enabled Collaborative designers to refine group processes so that efficient operation of valuable programs is guaranteed. An important element of cohort design involves the scheduling of program offerings. Short and long term scheduling of events, long range learning assignments, small group study activities, a variety of on-line activities, off site meetings within cohort groups, and other structures that accommodate the individual needs of the participants are facilitated by the cohort design.