History
THE ASSOCIATION FOR PERSONALIZED LEARNING PROGRAMS
If a designated point in time is to be celebrated as the origin of the Association for Personalized Learning Programs, surely it must be April 1975. During that month, a letter containing both a request to complete a questionnaire covering the operation, theory, staffing, funding, and services offered in existing Learning Centers and an invitation to attend a meeting of persons actively engaged in supportive, individualized learning programs was sent from Sangamon State University/Lincoln Land Community College to most of the institutions of post-secondary education in Illinois. The questionnaire represented the first effort to assess the quality and structure of individualized, supportive, remedial programs being operated on upper-level campuses in the state. The invitation was to attend a meeting at Allerton House in Monticello in October of that year for”...the sharing of ideas, insights, and concerns.” The letter also contained this prophetic statement: “Who knows, we may want to form an organization for supporting the needs of learning centers.” And thus the APLP was born!
In May 1975, Katherine Gavin of Prairie State College responded enthusiastically to the proposal for the meeting, mentioning that she had earlier discussed such a possibility with Barbara Johnson of Kennedy-King Community College and indicating that Beverly Bogaard of the College of DuPage would also be interested in the venture. In July 1975, Ben Ward and Gary Morgan, both of Sangamon State, met with Katherine, Barbara, and Beverly in Chicago and in Joliet to plan a fall conference and to lay the groundwork for an organization.
In September 1975, sixty people representing twenty community colleges and four universities attended the first Fall Retreat. Mr. G. Robert Darnes, Associate Secretary of the Illinois Community College Board, was the featured speaker, explaining how to develop and to gain approval and funding for courses and programs within the community college system. Lou Kelly from the University of Iowa conducted a writing session which elicited much favorable comment. A series of workshops moderated by Katherine Gavin, Beverly Bogaard, Gary Morgan, and Peggy Pavlisin of Lincoln Land Community College provided opportunity for spirited and informative exchange of ideas and methods – and for the beginning of many personal and professional associations and friendships.
In one of the workshop sessions, discussion centered around the selection of an appropriate name for an organization dedicated to the furtherance and professionalization of the upper-level learning center. In the general meeting following the workshops, THE ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION FOR PERSONALIZED LEARNING PROGRAMS was adopted by the assembly as a fitting name for an organization of educators involved with individualized, tutorial, remedial, supportive learning programs and/or centers in the Illinois institutions of higher learning.
The second workshop session centered around the discussion of what programs/courses/topics/techniques should be included in a total Learning Program. Perhaps the only evidence of unanimity of opinion in this session was that no unanimity could be established! However, in the general session following the workshops, several important decisions were arrived at by the assembly: (1) It would be to the advantage of all members of the organization to include both public and private institutions of higher education, and both junior and senior colleges and universities. In point of fact, one of the most talked-about discoveries was that, by and large, the senior institutions were encountering the same problem of underprepared students that the community colleges were coping with...and had thought unique to them. (2) For the next conference (yes, a next conference was overwhelmingly called for!) a symposium approach to learning courses/programs/centers by subject – writing, mathematics, reading, science, etc., – might provide more helpful information than would a division by technique – center, class, tutoring, A-V programming, etc. (3) A steering committee should be formed to evaluate the critiques of this first conference and to incorporate their findings into the planning for a 1976 Fall Retreat. (4) The group should accept the kind offer from Community College Frontiers to serve as a sort of clearing house for information and bibliographies regarding learning center literature for members of the IAPLP. (5) The tabulation of the questionnaire results was both interesting and helpful. For the first time, persons on one campus could not identify with compatriots on other campuses, sharing ideas, problems, techniques, – and aggravations!
Before the conference disbanded, attendants were asked to fill out an evaluation sheet, offer comments, and volunteer to serve on a steering committee which would plan the next conference and develop an organizational pattern for the association of persons concerned with individualized learning concepts. Forty-two people turned in evaluation and comment sheets. Ten volunteered to serve on the committee:
Beverly Bogaard (College of DuPage)
Paul Caponera (Thornton Community College)
Elizabeth Crook (Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville)
Robert L. Custer (Black Hawk College)
Katherine Gavin (Prairie State College)
Barbara Lawrence (Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville)
Cathy Livingston (Parkland College)
Sara McKinnon (Lincoln Land Community College)
Louis Valpert (Richland Community College)
Ben Ward (Sangamon State University)
In addition, Gary Morgan (Sangamon State) and Barbara Johnson (Kennedy-King) indicated that they were interested in the organization and would assist in the planning although they preferred not to be charged with committee responsibilities at this time. Ben Ward was almost unanimously (the only dissenting voice was his) selected as chairman or “head steerer.”
In October, Ben mailed out a reminder that the Director of Community College Relations for Sangamon State had volunteered her staff and facilities for the purpose of both collecting and disseminating materials and information that members have developed and/or collected and deem worthy of sharing with others. The letter also contained an invitation to contribute articles to Community College Frontiers.
And before October had passed into history, the Steering Committee met at Parkland, courtesy of Cathy Livingston, in Champaign, to chart a course for the new organization. At the close of a long, arduous day, four things had been accomplished: (1) A statement of purpose for the IAPLP had been drafted for acceptance by the membership. (2) A format for the 1976 Fall Retreat was drawn up. (3) A decision was made to keep the organization, for the present, loosely, if not “un,” structured. (4) By another almost unanimous vote, Ben was convinced that he should continue to chair the Steering Committee – he once again dissented but was once again overvoted..
In January 1976, a copy of the resolution was sent to all the conference participants along with a request for comment – and a membership application for the now-formed Association. A listing of names and addresses of those who had convened at Allerton was also included. Cathy Livingston, who had abstracted the Steering Committee’s thoughts and suggestions into the final resolution, conducted this mailing.
RESOLUTION
Because we work with students with diverse backgrounds, abilities, interests, and goals (GED, ABE, developmental, advanced, etc.);
Because of the myriad of programs which serve these students;
Because of the variety in scope of these programs;
Because of the variety in backgrounds of people who staff these programs;
Because of the difficulty in identifying people who staff these programs;
Because of the newness of these programs;
We, as individuals, agree to work together toward the improvement of personalized learning programs, whatever their nature, at colleges and universities in Illinois. To accomplish this purpose, we will address ourselves to the following:
1. establish a communication network;
2. promote professional identification;
3. provide workshops;
a. improvement of methods,
b. improvement of materials,
c. how to set up a new program,
d. ways to evaluate existing programs,
e. ways to revise existing programs,
f. and others.
In January and again in March 1976, Louise Allen distributed the first and second sets of materials which had been submitted to the Clearinghouse. And Beverly Bogaard sent out the compilation and analysis of the conference evaluations – which called for another meeting at Allerton in the Fall.
The Steering Committee met at Lincoln Land, courtesy of Sara McKinnon, to plan the second Allerton Conference. The committee had suffered some attrition and now consisted of Beverly Bogaard, Elizabeth Crook, Katherine Gavin, Barbara Lawrence, Cathy Livingston, Sara McKinnon, Ben Ward...with Gary Morgan still assisting but still denying membership.
In May, the committee set about organizing the second Fall Conference, responding to the comments elicited from the evaluation of the first. The second conference, then, presented nine workshops centered on specific topics requested:
1) Teaching of Math and Science in a Lab Environment
2) All You Need to Know About ERIC
3) English as a Second Language
4) Teaching of Composition One-to-One
5) Writing Proposals/Obtaining Grants
6) Teaching of Reading and Study Skills in a Lab Environment
7) Establishing a Positive Image for the Learning Lab or Center
8) Design, Development, and Improvement of Personalized Learning Programs
9) Limitations and Uses of Standardized Testing
Clark Chipman, Branch Chief TRIO Programs, Region 5, U.S. Office of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, addressed the meeting, advising the group of the purposes and intents of the federally funded programs and offering suggestions on how to participate. An unscheduled but much appreciated presentation was provided by Clarence Shelley, Dean of Student Services at the University of Illinois, Urbana Campus, who was pressed into service by Mr. Chipman. This second conference had participants, representing states, community colleges, and senior colleges and universities.
The Steering Committee met for a brief session following the conference to evaluate the events of the past two days, to welcome Barbara Johnson to the committee, and to start planning for the third annual conference! Oh, yes, – once again the committee in its ultimate wisdom overvoted Ben and selected him head steerer for another term!
Early in 1977, Ben circulated the tabulated responses to the conference evaluation sheet, and the committee were gratified to note the unqualified positive reaction to their planning. An updated list of “members” and addresses was distributed to the attendants of both conferences.
In May, 1977, the committee convened in Joliet to work on the forthcoming fall meeting and to hear Gary Saretsky of the National Association for Remedial/Developmental Studies in Post Secondary Education explain the objectives of his organization and to respond to his request for approval and/or participation by the IAPLP. After considerable discussion, the Steering Committee decided to leave active participation in NARDSPE to the individual choice of IAPLP members and to continue IAPLP on a more regional basis than NARDSPE is headed . Before the meeting adjourned, plans for the 1977 Fall Conference were well established, with each other member of the committee assuming specific planning duties – Ben to be the central coordinating person. One more bit of business was handled: the committee accepted Barbara Lawrence’s resignation, tendered because she is leaving the SIUE Writing Clinic to return to full-time teaching.
And so in October, 1977, the Third Annual Fall Conference of the IAPLP convened, with eight-two educators and counselors representing thirty-six institutions and four states in attendance.
Karl Taylor of Illinois Central College opened the conference with a keynote address entitled “The Cutting Edge,” calling attention to the potential impact of Personalized Learning Programs (Learning Centers, Reading/Writing Labs, Study Skills Programs, etc.). Midway through the meeting Gary Saretsky of Chicago State University sparked a vigorous discussion of “Professionalization of Personalized Learning Programs.”
The program included symposia on the philosophy of personalized learning programs, and on methods of evaluating them. A third symposium focused on some specific models for such programs. In addition workshops were presented on the content areas, reading and study skills, writing, TESOL, and mathematics.
The Steering Committee met briefly following the conference to discuss the impact of the symposia and, in particular, Gary Saretsky’s presentation and its implications for IAPLP. The consensus of opinion was that the committee, after a short time for consideration and compilation of thoughts and ideas on the subject, should meet for an in-depth analysis of IAPLP, its goals, its methods, its procedures, and its administration.
In November, 1977, the Steering Committee convened in Champaign, and several items of business were accomplished:
(1) It was agreed unanimously to drop the “Illinois” from the name of the organization because we have had participation and contributions from members representing states other than just Illinois. Henceforth, the organization will be known as THE ASSOCIATION FOR PERSONALIZED LEARNING PROGRAMS.
(2) To facilitate the obtaining of funds for attending the conference, the committee decided to issue a “membership” card upon the payment of the conference fee which will double as annual dues. Further, all monies paid into the APLP will be receipted by an “official” organization receipt. The initial amount charged will be $5.00.
(3) A permanent structure for the APLP was agreed upon. The organization will be directed by an Executive Committee made up of a Director, an Historian/Record Keeper, a Treasurer, and four sub-committee chairs: Communication, Professional Identity, Conference, and Membership. Provision is made for the addition of ad hoc committees which will respond to temporary or additional matters of interest which the Executive Committee deems essential and worthy of special attention.
Term of service on the Executive Committee will be four years, with two positions open each year for appointment. The Committee will appoint persons to fill the vacancies, selected from a pool of volunteers from the general membership. Natural attrition will be handled in the same manner. The original Steering Committee will regroup into the Executive Committee at the outset, with members determining the duration of their terms by lot; the regular rotation of service-term will start in 1980.
Members of the Executive Committee, at the expiration of their terms, will be eligible to apply for re-appointment.
The Executive Committee/Appointment format was chosen to provide stability and continuity to the APLP and to avoid the difficulties encountered in electing officials from an ever-changing membership of persons who are not, for the most part, cognizant of each other’s executive and administrative capabilities and interests.
(4) To initiate the new structure, Ben Ward (almost unanimously, again!) was chosen as Director: Sara McKinnon, Treasurer; Liz Crook, Historian/Record Keeper. The four committee chairs will be filled by:
And so, three short years later, that quiet little comment “Who knows, we may want to form an organization...” was answered!
The IAPLP (Illinois Association for Personalized Learning Programs) is an organization of Instructors, Directors, and Administrators who meet once a year to promote greater effectiveness of developmental education programs, learning assistance centers, and programs for alternative delivery of education in Illinois post-secondary education.
If a designated point in time is to be celebrated as the origin of the Association for Personalized Learning Programs, surely it must be April 1975. During that month, a letter containing both a request to complete a questionnaire covering the operation, theory, staffing, funding, and services offered in existing Learning Centers and an invitation to attend a meeting of persons actively engaged in supportive, individualized learning programs was sent from Sangamon State University/Lincoln Land Community College to most of the institutions of post-secondary education in Illinois. The questionnaire represented the first effort to assess the quality and structure of individualized, supportive, remedial programs being operated on upper-level campuses in the state. The invitation was to attend a meeting at Allerton House in Monticello in October of that year for”...the sharing of ideas, insights, and concerns.” The letter also contained this prophetic statement: “Who knows, we may want to form an organization for supporting the needs of learning centers.” And thus the APLP was born!
In May 1975, Katherine Gavin of Prairie State College responded enthusiastically to the proposal for the meeting, mentioning that she had earlier discussed such a possibility with Barbara Johnson of Kennedy-King Community College and indicating that Beverly Bogaard of the College of DuPage would also be interested in the venture. In July 1975, Ben Ward and Gary Morgan, both of Sangamon State, met with Katherine, Barbara, and Beverly in Chicago and in Joliet to plan a fall conference and to lay the groundwork for an organization.
In September 1975, sixty people representing twenty community colleges and four universities attended the first Fall Retreat. Mr. G. Robert Darnes, Associate Secretary of the Illinois Community College Board, was the featured speaker, explaining how to develop and to gain approval and funding for courses and programs within the community college system. Lou Kelly from the University of Iowa conducted a writing session which elicited much favorable comment. A series of workshops moderated by Katherine Gavin, Beverly Bogaard, Gary Morgan, and Peggy Pavlisin of Lincoln Land Community College provided opportunity for spirited and informative exchange of ideas and methods – and for the beginning of many personal and professional associations and friendships.
In one of the workshop sessions, discussion centered around the selection of an appropriate name for an organization dedicated to the furtherance and professionalization of the upper-level learning center. In the general meeting following the workshops, THE ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION FOR PERSONALIZED LEARNING PROGRAMS was adopted by the assembly as a fitting name for an organization of educators involved with individualized, tutorial, remedial, supportive learning programs and/or centers in the Illinois institutions of higher learning.
The second workshop session centered around the discussion of what programs/courses/topics/techniques should be included in a total Learning Program. Perhaps the only evidence of unanimity of opinion in this session was that no unanimity could be established! However, in the general session following the workshops, several important decisions were arrived at by the assembly: (1) It would be to the advantage of all members of the organization to include both public and private institutions of higher education, and both junior and senior colleges and universities. In point of fact, one of the most talked-about discoveries was that, by and large, the senior institutions were encountering the same problem of underprepared students that the community colleges were coping with...and had thought unique to them. (2) For the next conference (yes, a next conference was overwhelmingly called for!) a symposium approach to learning courses/programs/centers by subject – writing, mathematics, reading, science, etc., – might provide more helpful information than would a division by technique – center, class, tutoring, A-V programming, etc. (3) A steering committee should be formed to evaluate the critiques of this first conference and to incorporate their findings into the planning for a 1976 Fall Retreat. (4) The group should accept the kind offer from Community College Frontiers to serve as a sort of clearing house for information and bibliographies regarding learning center literature for members of the IAPLP. (5) The tabulation of the questionnaire results was both interesting and helpful. For the first time, persons on one campus could not identify with compatriots on other campuses, sharing ideas, problems, techniques, – and aggravations!
Before the conference disbanded, attendants were asked to fill out an evaluation sheet, offer comments, and volunteer to serve on a steering committee which would plan the next conference and develop an organizational pattern for the association of persons concerned with individualized learning concepts. Forty-two people turned in evaluation and comment sheets. Ten volunteered to serve on the committee:
Beverly Bogaard (College of DuPage)
Paul Caponera (Thornton Community College)
Elizabeth Crook (Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville)
Robert L. Custer (Black Hawk College)
Katherine Gavin (Prairie State College)
Barbara Lawrence (Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville)
Cathy Livingston (Parkland College)
Sara McKinnon (Lincoln Land Community College)
Louis Valpert (Richland Community College)
Ben Ward (Sangamon State University)
In addition, Gary Morgan (Sangamon State) and Barbara Johnson (Kennedy-King) indicated that they were interested in the organization and would assist in the planning although they preferred not to be charged with committee responsibilities at this time. Ben Ward was almost unanimously (the only dissenting voice was his) selected as chairman or “head steerer.”
In October, Ben mailed out a reminder that the Director of Community College Relations for Sangamon State had volunteered her staff and facilities for the purpose of both collecting and disseminating materials and information that members have developed and/or collected and deem worthy of sharing with others. The letter also contained an invitation to contribute articles to Community College Frontiers.
And before October had passed into history, the Steering Committee met at Parkland, courtesy of Cathy Livingston, in Champaign, to chart a course for the new organization. At the close of a long, arduous day, four things had been accomplished: (1) A statement of purpose for the IAPLP had been drafted for acceptance by the membership. (2) A format for the 1976 Fall Retreat was drawn up. (3) A decision was made to keep the organization, for the present, loosely, if not “un,” structured. (4) By another almost unanimous vote, Ben was convinced that he should continue to chair the Steering Committee – he once again dissented but was once again overvoted..
In January 1976, a copy of the resolution was sent to all the conference participants along with a request for comment – and a membership application for the now-formed Association. A listing of names and addresses of those who had convened at Allerton was also included. Cathy Livingston, who had abstracted the Steering Committee’s thoughts and suggestions into the final resolution, conducted this mailing.
RESOLUTION
Because we work with students with diverse backgrounds, abilities, interests, and goals (GED, ABE, developmental, advanced, etc.);
Because of the myriad of programs which serve these students;
Because of the variety in scope of these programs;
Because of the variety in backgrounds of people who staff these programs;
Because of the difficulty in identifying people who staff these programs;
Because of the newness of these programs;
We, as individuals, agree to work together toward the improvement of personalized learning programs, whatever their nature, at colleges and universities in Illinois. To accomplish this purpose, we will address ourselves to the following:
1. establish a communication network;
2. promote professional identification;
3. provide workshops;
a. improvement of methods,
b. improvement of materials,
c. how to set up a new program,
d. ways to evaluate existing programs,
e. ways to revise existing programs,
f. and others.
In January and again in March 1976, Louise Allen distributed the first and second sets of materials which had been submitted to the Clearinghouse. And Beverly Bogaard sent out the compilation and analysis of the conference evaluations – which called for another meeting at Allerton in the Fall.
The Steering Committee met at Lincoln Land, courtesy of Sara McKinnon, to plan the second Allerton Conference. The committee had suffered some attrition and now consisted of Beverly Bogaard, Elizabeth Crook, Katherine Gavin, Barbara Lawrence, Cathy Livingston, Sara McKinnon, Ben Ward...with Gary Morgan still assisting but still denying membership.
In May, the committee set about organizing the second Fall Conference, responding to the comments elicited from the evaluation of the first. The second conference, then, presented nine workshops centered on specific topics requested:
1) Teaching of Math and Science in a Lab Environment
2) All You Need to Know About ERIC
3) English as a Second Language
4) Teaching of Composition One-to-One
5) Writing Proposals/Obtaining Grants
6) Teaching of Reading and Study Skills in a Lab Environment
7) Establishing a Positive Image for the Learning Lab or Center
8) Design, Development, and Improvement of Personalized Learning Programs
9) Limitations and Uses of Standardized Testing
Clark Chipman, Branch Chief TRIO Programs, Region 5, U.S. Office of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, addressed the meeting, advising the group of the purposes and intents of the federally funded programs and offering suggestions on how to participate. An unscheduled but much appreciated presentation was provided by Clarence Shelley, Dean of Student Services at the University of Illinois, Urbana Campus, who was pressed into service by Mr. Chipman. This second conference had participants, representing states, community colleges, and senior colleges and universities.
The Steering Committee met for a brief session following the conference to evaluate the events of the past two days, to welcome Barbara Johnson to the committee, and to start planning for the third annual conference! Oh, yes, – once again the committee in its ultimate wisdom overvoted Ben and selected him head steerer for another term!
Early in 1977, Ben circulated the tabulated responses to the conference evaluation sheet, and the committee were gratified to note the unqualified positive reaction to their planning. An updated list of “members” and addresses was distributed to the attendants of both conferences.
In May, 1977, the committee convened in Joliet to work on the forthcoming fall meeting and to hear Gary Saretsky of the National Association for Remedial/Developmental Studies in Post Secondary Education explain the objectives of his organization and to respond to his request for approval and/or participation by the IAPLP. After considerable discussion, the Steering Committee decided to leave active participation in NARDSPE to the individual choice of IAPLP members and to continue IAPLP on a more regional basis than NARDSPE is headed . Before the meeting adjourned, plans for the 1977 Fall Conference were well established, with each other member of the committee assuming specific planning duties – Ben to be the central coordinating person. One more bit of business was handled: the committee accepted Barbara Lawrence’s resignation, tendered because she is leaving the SIUE Writing Clinic to return to full-time teaching.
And so in October, 1977, the Third Annual Fall Conference of the IAPLP convened, with eight-two educators and counselors representing thirty-six institutions and four states in attendance.
Karl Taylor of Illinois Central College opened the conference with a keynote address entitled “The Cutting Edge,” calling attention to the potential impact of Personalized Learning Programs (Learning Centers, Reading/Writing Labs, Study Skills Programs, etc.). Midway through the meeting Gary Saretsky of Chicago State University sparked a vigorous discussion of “Professionalization of Personalized Learning Programs.”
The program included symposia on the philosophy of personalized learning programs, and on methods of evaluating them. A third symposium focused on some specific models for such programs. In addition workshops were presented on the content areas, reading and study skills, writing, TESOL, and mathematics.
The Steering Committee met briefly following the conference to discuss the impact of the symposia and, in particular, Gary Saretsky’s presentation and its implications for IAPLP. The consensus of opinion was that the committee, after a short time for consideration and compilation of thoughts and ideas on the subject, should meet for an in-depth analysis of IAPLP, its goals, its methods, its procedures, and its administration.
In November, 1977, the Steering Committee convened in Champaign, and several items of business were accomplished:
(1) It was agreed unanimously to drop the “Illinois” from the name of the organization because we have had participation and contributions from members representing states other than just Illinois. Henceforth, the organization will be known as THE ASSOCIATION FOR PERSONALIZED LEARNING PROGRAMS.
(2) To facilitate the obtaining of funds for attending the conference, the committee decided to issue a “membership” card upon the payment of the conference fee which will double as annual dues. Further, all monies paid into the APLP will be receipted by an “official” organization receipt. The initial amount charged will be $5.00.
(3) A permanent structure for the APLP was agreed upon. The organization will be directed by an Executive Committee made up of a Director, an Historian/Record Keeper, a Treasurer, and four sub-committee chairs: Communication, Professional Identity, Conference, and Membership. Provision is made for the addition of ad hoc committees which will respond to temporary or additional matters of interest which the Executive Committee deems essential and worthy of special attention.
Term of service on the Executive Committee will be four years, with two positions open each year for appointment. The Committee will appoint persons to fill the vacancies, selected from a pool of volunteers from the general membership. Natural attrition will be handled in the same manner. The original Steering Committee will regroup into the Executive Committee at the outset, with members determining the duration of their terms by lot; the regular rotation of service-term will start in 1980.
Members of the Executive Committee, at the expiration of their terms, will be eligible to apply for re-appointment.
The Executive Committee/Appointment format was chosen to provide stability and continuity to the APLP and to avoid the difficulties encountered in electing officials from an ever-changing membership of persons who are not, for the most part, cognizant of each other’s executive and administrative capabilities and interests.
(4) To initiate the new structure, Ben Ward (almost unanimously, again!) was chosen as Director: Sara McKinnon, Treasurer; Liz Crook, Historian/Record Keeper. The four committee chairs will be filled by:
- Communication: Gary Morgan, assisted by Liz Crook
- Professional Identity: Ben Ward, assisted by Cathy Livingston
- Conference: Sara McKinnon, assisted by Beverly Baker
- Membership: Barbara Johnson, assisted by Katherine Gavin.
And so, three short years later, that quiet little comment “Who knows, we may want to form an organization...” was answered!
The IAPLP (Illinois Association for Personalized Learning Programs) is an organization of Instructors, Directors, and Administrators who meet once a year to promote greater effectiveness of developmental education programs, learning assistance centers, and programs for alternative delivery of education in Illinois post-secondary education.