WELCOME MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

Scott Morgan
IEL CEO

I would like to extend to you a warm welcome to the Institute for Extended Learning (IEL). The IEL, as one of three institutions of the Community Colleges of Spokane District, is committed to helping you reach your education goals. Whether you are interested in earning a degree or certificate, learning a new skill or enhancing current one, or simply taking a class for pure pleasure, we have the programs and services for you. In collaboration with Spokane Falls Community College and Spokane Community College, the IEL provides a wide array of educational opportunities to the people residing in our 12,300-mile, six-county district which includes Ferry, Lincoln, Spokane, Stevens, Pend Oreille, and Whitman Counties. Credit offerings in academic transfer and workforce training are accredited under our sister institutions: Spokane Community College and Spokane Falls Community College.

The IEL takes its services to the students—we operate education centers in the communities we serve. We reach out to rural communities and Spokane neighborhoods to provide educational opportunities that otherwise might not be available. Our faculty, staff, and programs are service oriented and student friendly.

We are dedicated to assisting you to maximize your potential and to be academically successful. I hope this website is informative and that we will see you in one of our classrooms soon.

Scott Morgan

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INSTITUTE FOR EXTENDED LEARNING VISION

The Institute for Extended Learning will be:

• A beacon for students of all ages and backgrounds.
• A leader in innovative instruction and services.
• Widely acclaimed and emulated for its dynamic and flexible delivery methods.
• Renowned for its responsiveness, collaborative partnerships and diversity.
• The Institute for Extended Learning equips and empowers individuals and their communities.

We Change Lives!

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MISSION STATEMENTS

COMMUNITY COLLEGES OF SPOKANE MISSION STATEMENT

Community Colleges of Spokane, collaborating as a district, is committed to providing quality, relevant learning opportunities for students and the six-county regional community we serve.

We fulfill our mission:

• Through our three student-centered institutions – Spokane Community College, Spokane Falls Community College, and the Institute for Extended Learning – where outstanding faculty and staff provide comprehensive educational, training and enrichment activities for people of all ages and backgrounds.
• Through a challenging and supportive environment where diverse students, faculty and staff flourish.
• Through collaboration with our colleagues in education and our partners in business and the community.

Link to entire mission statement

Adopted by the Board of Trustees on July 20, 2004

The Institute for Extended Learning, one of three educational institutions of Community Colleges of Spokane, develops individual potential and enhances economic prosperity of the communities we serve.

In collaboration with our accredited partners, we provide a dynamic and responsive spectrum of education and training programs and services for the benefit of individuals, families, employers and organizations.

The Institute for Extended Learning uses time tested and innovative educational delivery systems to give students, both urban and rural, access to learning opportunities they otherwise might not have.

[Adopted 05/16/89; Revised 03/19/02, 07/19/05]

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THE LODGE (A HISTORY OF THE IEL)

Affectionately referred to as the “Lodge,” the building located at 3305 W. Fort George Wright Drive has come to symbolize the IEL and its mission. Dedicated in 1939, the “Lodge” was originally built as the Officers and Civilians Club. It was the pride of Spokane, initially limited to a membership of 200, comprised primarily of Fort George Wright officers and members of the Spokane Polo Club. Colonel W.R. Wheeler, post commander, served as the initial club president.

The landmark, constructed of peeled fir and tamarack logs overlooking the Spokane River, was expanded and remodeled in 1941 and 1943 to its present size of 20,000 square feet. In 1943, the name was changed to Fort George Wright Officers Club. After World War II, it continued to serve as an officers’ club/mess hall and a Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) cadet mess hall/club.

The present building was abandoned in 1958 when Fort George Wright was closed as an active military installation and declared surplus with ownership reverting to Spokane Public Schools. When the surrounding historic 118-acre site was selected and acquired in 1964 to be the second campus of Spokane Community College, the contractors recommended that the building be torn down.

In the spring of 1967, a delegation of students became interested in the preservation of the building. After an inspection of the log structure, student support increased. A petition listing 1,476 signatures, representing 67 percent of the student population, was presented to the college board to retain the building and turn it into a much needed student center. Community leaders and citizens also voiced approval of the renovation project. The District 17 Board of Trustees sanctioned the renovation project in July 1967.

The new student center quickly became known as the Lodge. It housed student body offices, study rooms, lounge areas, a snack bar, recreational facilities, and the bookstore. Numerous activities were held in the student center, including mixers, talent shows, fireside chats, student and faculty forums, speakers, and alumni events. It also became a popular facility for community and private groups to rent for dances, meetings, parties, and weddings.

In 1970, the Fort Wright Campus of Spokane Community College had become Spokane Falls Community College, and in 1976 the student center was moved to a new building across the street on campus. The vacated Lodge then became an ideal location for the district’s new Women’s Program, expanding buildings and grounds department, extension and continuing education programs, new school and college relations coordinator, and newly established Partnership for Rural Improvement. Since 1989, the lodge has undergone continuous renovation to make it accessible and return it to its original beauty.

From the early 1970s until today, the Lodge has housed some of the programs and people that have become the Institute for Extended Learning. Today the Lodge serves as the IEL’s administrative center, supporting programs and staff are now located at more than 150 locations throughout the six-county service region of Community Colleges of Spokane.

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FACTS ABOUT THE IEL

The Institute for Extended Learning is a network of innovative services, offering traditional and non-traditional education and customized training throughout the 12,312 square miles of our six-county district.

As a result of our people and partnerships. . .

• The IEL averaged over 4,000 state-support unduplicated headcount per quarter for the 2004-05 academic year.
• We produced over 2,700 state-supported annualized FTEs (full-time-equivalent) in 2004-05. Our FTE allocation is larger than 11 other community and technical colleges in the state system.
• We generate over $17 million in grants and contracts--which is more than twice our $8.4 million state allocation.
• We employed over 800 full-time and part-time people during the past year.
• We serve over 3,400 adults per year in the Adult Basic Education division, including GED, High School Completion, and English as a Second Language, and Welfare to Employment programs.
• We teach an average of 1,000 immigrants and refugees per year.
• Nearly 6,000 senior citizens (55 and older) participated in non-credit classes at over 30 sites throughout the area.
• We helped more than 343 families enhance their parenting skills in our Parent Cooperative Preschools.
• We serve about 1,800 infant, toddler, and preschool children per year in our Head Start, Early Head Start, ECEAP (Early Childhood Education and Assistance), and Extended Hour Care programs.
• The SBDC provided individual counseling to almost 150 businesses and had over 400 participants in noncredit workshops.
• Over 1,200 callers received information and referrals through our Help Line. Approximately 400 students received personal/vocational counseling, and 225 women in transition were served intensively in the three Life Skills/Women's Programs and workshops.
• Over 1,500 noncredit, self-support classes; over 1600 state-support noncredit classes; and almost 1,200 non-credit contracted classes are offered at more than 100 off-campus sites.
• Through Project Self-Sufficiency, more than 50 single parents learned how to make the transition from public assistance to continuing their education and training; 98 students were enrolled in Change Point!; 14 students explored nontraditional training and employment in our Women In Nontraditional Settings course; and 61 students participated in Paths to Technology for Women.
• People Accessing Careers and Education (PACE) enrolled over 600 students in their work employment program and classes
.
• We meet the educational needs of over 2,300 adults incarcerated by the Washington Department of Corrections. Over 250 of these students earn their GED certificate each year.
• The Colville Center was the only educational institution in the state offering instruction via an audio teleconference system in three counties. The college then began offering instruction via a live interactive video system in 1995 and continues to offer college courses to the Republic, Newport, Inchelium, and North Pend Oreille college centers on a daily basis. They are the first to offer full motion interactive video classes in four counties.
• Through a cooperative agreement with WSU, we extend classes leading to a Baccalaureate Degree via distance education to Stevens, Ferry and Pend Oreille counties. A state-approved WSU Learning Center was added to the Colville Center to support these and other Stevens County Cooperative Extension programs.
• More than 5,600 adults enrolled in community services noncredit classes held in off campus locations throughout the six-county service area.

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