“Be all that you can be” isn’t just a slogan for the U.S. Army.  It’s also an applicable description of the mindset The Learning House, Inc. (www.learninghouse.com), a total online education solutions provider, employs throughout the development of online programs for its client schools.  Learning House, located in Louisville, Ky., is known throughout the industry as a leading provider of high quality, cost-efficient online services to small colleges and universities throughout the United States.  With the company’s comprehensive eServices options, Learning House is proud to consider itself a one-stop shop for all of its clients’ eLearning needs, which can range from academic consulting to faculty, staff and registrar training.

However, course customization has remained one of the most attractive features of the company’s eServices to its clients.  First and foremost, Learning House provides clients with four options for creating online courses and programs.  Each option enables the client to choose a plan of design and implementation that will coordinate most efficiently and effectively with its goals and objectives.  In addition, Learning House’s expert staff is available to create comprehensive courses customized to fit the needs of every faculty member and the classes they lead.  “The online experience has been an incredible one for me and the students here,” says Dr. Drew Randle, department chair and associate professor of Christian Ministry at Bryan College. 

Bryan College, a four-year undergraduate college of arts and sciences in Dayton, Tenn., initiated a partnership with Leaning House in 2005. For Bryan College, Learning House’s expertise in building individual courses and complete degree programs made the company an excellent choice for the launch of its online core content courses.  As a result, much time was spent by staff at both Learning House and Bryan to translate the institution’s liberal arts core curriculum — which has guided the school’s student experience since 1930 — to the digital realm of the Internet.

A potential challenge to Bryan’s eLearning move lay in bringing the school’s emphasis on Biblical principles and a Christian worldview to its virtual courses.  To accomplish this, Bryan and Learning House partnered to ensure that both the educational quality and the spiritual foundation of the college were appropriately communicated through each of its seven-week sessions of online, general education courses.  Bryan’s online students have access to these online classes, which include courses in religion, history, mathematics, psychology, English and Greek. Students who choose to partake in Bryan’s traditional class offerings can also access online courses during summer terms, if desired.

Randle, who is also the online instructor for the institution’s Online Biblical Foundation classes, believes the work has proven successful.   From his experience, students both enjoy and benefit from many of the online features in distance learning, such as the online class-specific chat rooms, discussion boards and online-based testing in the courses designed by Learning House.

“The chat format and the smaller class sizes have given students the opportunities to receive more personal attention than in many of the traditional classes I’ve taught,” Randle remarks. “They’ve also seemed to enjoy interaction with each other, as well.”   Furthermore, Randle, as the class leader, values the ability to monitor student discussion, which, in turn, enables him to get a feel for the students’ grasp of course issues. This element of comprehension and faculty support is indispensable to Randle’s online instruction methods, as particular class topics, such as Biblical foundations, can be quite abstract.

In day-to-day operations, attention to detail and clients’ needs by Learning House has proven essential.  “The technical support that I’ve received from the Learning House has been solid and helpful,” says Randle.

However, it is important to note that Learning House’s work for client schools does not stop with the launch of a new course.  The company assists institutions in looking to the future opportunities afforded by the online course platform.  Available to each of its clients, Learning House provides advanced marketing solutions geared toward promoting clients’ online courses and programs to appropriate target audiences. In addition, the company’s comprehensive marketing services are designed to not only increase enrollment but connect educators with those potential students who are seeking a high-quality online learning experience.

Reflecting upon the development of the program, Randle has seen many of the benefits and effects of Learning House’s unique customized approach to building online courses and programs. The result has granted Randle unforeseen opportunities in a variety of formats, including in his own virtual classrooms.  “The opportunity to interact with students from broad educational backgrounds and from different parts of the country has been tremendous,” he explains.  For a teacher based on a rural campus such as Bryan College, collaboration with Learning House has literally opened up a whole new world.

About Bryan College

Named after the famous orator and statesman, William Jennings Bryan, Bryan College was chartered in 1930 and admitted its first class in the fall of that year.  Bryan’s 118-acre hilltop campus is currently located in Dayton, Tenn. The college is a four-year undergraduate institution, which focuses its degree offerings in the fields of arts and science.  As part of its mission, Bryan aims to educate students to become servants of Christ to make a difference in today’s world. The college seeks to assist in the personal growth and development of qualified students by providing an education based upon an integrated understanding of the Bible and the liberal arts. 

About The Learning House, Inc.

The Learning House, Inc. was founded in 1985 by Dr. Denzil Edge.  Learning House is a comprehensive online education solutions partner which helps colleges and universities offer and manage their online degree programs. Learning House provides a total virtual campus solution to each of its clients, including online course development and publishing, learning management system customization and hosting, online program marketing, 24/7 technology support, faculty and staff training, online faculty sourcing and online education consulting. The Learning House, Inc. provides eLearning services to more than 50 accredited institutions of higher education. For more information about Learning House, please visit: www.learninghouse.com.