Pearson, Oregon Community Colleges Healthcare Education Alliance Partner to Increase Access to Workforce Training Programs

SALEM, Ore., May 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Pearson and the Oregon Community Colleges Healthcare Education Alliance (CCHEA) today announced a partnership to increase access to healthcare education programs. The partnership will provide residents in urban, rural and frontier areas of Oregon with the opportunity to earn associate degrees or certificates through distance education or hybrid models.

According to Oregon's Employment Department, healthcare job openings are greater than any other job sector. Additionally, under the new federal healthcare law, 310,000 previously uninsured Oregon residents are expected to gain insurance by 2019, leading to more demand for services and greater need for healthcare education.

As part of the partnership, participating Oregon community colleges will use the Pearson LearningStudio platform to deliver their online healthcare training programs. The colleges will have access to Pearson LearningStudio's robust assessment and analytics suite to measure student performance and retention and track the achievement of program goals.

Linn-Benton Community College will offer the first programs, Diagnostic Imaging and Occupational Therapy Assistant, followed by programs from Central Oregon Community College and Mt. Hood Community College in Pharmacy Technician, Addiction Counseling and Health Informatics.

"Oregon is a very rural state," said Ann Malosh, Dean of Business, Healthcare and Workforce at Linn Benton Community College. "Previously, many students who wanted to get an education in this field would have to move to Portland or another part of the Valley, and when they completed their studies, often they would not return to their hometowns to provide much-needed healthcare services there. We're excited about the opportunities this program creates for rural students, who can now receive healthcare training closer to home. It's the 'grow your own' concept and we have found it works. It will help us attract, educate and retain more healthcare professionals here in Oregon."

"The health of Oregonians greatly depends on having a well-trained healthcare workforce throughout Oregon," said Matt Leavy, CEO of Pearson eCollege. "The availability of effective distance education programs for those interested in the healthcare field is immensely important. We look forward to working with Oregon's community colleges to increase access to educational opportunities that offer the flexibility and convenience of an online model."

Services provided by Pearson will promote CCHEA's ability to follow the Interregional Guidelines for the Evaluation of Distance Education (Online Learning), which were developed by the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC). Pearson and CCHEA are working proactively to address the guidelines, which include evidence of learning, retention, evaluation and student support services.

Serving millions of students around the globe, Pearson LearningStudio provides a comprehensive learning management system with an assessment and analytics suite that helps to improve student achievement and retention. The technology offers a personalized learning environment build on advanced, scalable and dependable Software as a Service. For more information, visit http://www.pearsonlearningstudio.com.

About Pearson eCollege

Pearson eCollege is a trusted and innovative leader in powering online learning programs and part of Pearson, the world's leading learning company (NYSE: PSO). Pearson eCollege's flagship product—Pearson LearningStudio—represents the next generation in learning management systems and provides a comprehensive, flexible and fully supported cloud computing environment for online personalized learning in higher education. For more information, visit http://www.pearsonlearningstudio.com.

Media contact: Susan Aspey, susan(dot)aspey(at)pearson(dot)com or (800) 745-8489

SOURCE Pearson