Community Education Department

About the Department
The main objective of the Community Education Department is to provide quality education for the Winnebago and surrounding communities in accordance with the mission and philosophy of Little Priest Tribal College (LPTC).

The Community Education Department is a flexible, responsive arm of LPTC developed to identify programs that respond to needs unmet by existing, traditional credit programs. 

The Community Education Department provides a wide variety of noncredit instructional, remedial, vocational, recreational, and cultural courses for people sixteen years of age and older, of any professional experience and educational levels.  Through a variety of workshops, seminars and continuing education classes, the department strives to upgrade job skills and/or improve employability.  In addition, the department offers activities and classes in the cultural arts to preserve the rich heritage and history of the Winnebago Nation.

Who is Eligible?
Anyone is eligible, with or without a degree or diploma.  Formal admission to the College is not necessary in order to participate in Community Education events.  The only requirement for most non-credit activities is the desire to learn.  Community Education events are open to all persons without regard to race, color, religion, sex, martial status, beliefs, age, national origin, or physical or mental disability. 

Community Education Program Goals
The goals of the community education department are:

• To provide the opportunity for completing course work equivalent to the high school diploma.
• To share the knowledge about traditional culture arts and skills, thus ensuring the continuation of tribal culture.
• To actively promote the speaking of tribal language within the community.
• To respond to employer needs for timely staff training and workforce development curricula.
• To assist groups or individuals in attaining specific seminars or courses that meet licensing or re-certification needs.
• To promote lifelong learning as an enriching benefit to the individual and to the community.

Program Areas

Computer Applications
Workshops in program applications, internet training, specific accounting applications, network management and other related topics are offered upon request.

Employee Development
Workshops are offered to upgrade employee skills and knowledge about their function within their organization.

Administrative Development
Continuing education classes are designed for supervisory and administrative personnel.

Traditional Ho-Chunk Courses
Cultural workshops in this area explore traditional art forms and skills of work recognized as Winnebago.

General Education Development
The GED is a high school completion program jointly sponsored by the Nebraska State Education Department and Little Priest Tribal College.

Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Training Agency
The College has been approved by the State of Nebraska as an EMS training agency and offers courses in the areas of emergency medical training and first aid.

Customized Training
Much of the training offered through Community Education can be customized for your organization and may be developed to meet particular needs.  Customized training can be held on campus or at your site.  Please call the Community Education Department for more information.  The Community Education Department can also assist groups and organizations interested in developing programs, conferences, or training of special interest.

What is a Continuing Education Unit (CEU)?

Definition:
Continuing Education Unit or CEU is ten contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education experience under responsible scholarship, capable direction, and qualified instruction.

CEU Criteria

1. Each activity is planned in response to educational needs, which have been identified for a target audience.
2. Each activity has clear and concise written statements of intended learning outcomes.
3. Qualified instructional personnel are involved in planning and conducting each activity.
4. Content and instructional methods are appropriate for the intended learning outcomes.
5. Participants must demonstrate their attainment of the learning outcomes.
6. Each learning activity is evaluated by the participants.
7. LPTC has an identifiable unit, group, or individual with clearly defined responsibilities for developing and administering learning activities.
8. LPTC has a review process in operation that ensures the CEU criteria are met.
9. LPTC maintains a complete record of each individual’s participation and can provide a copy of that record upon request for period of at least seven (7) years.
10. LPTC provides an appropriate learning environment and support services.

CEU Policy
Little Priest Tribal College has adopted the Continuing Education Unit (CEU) as the standard for all education and training programs within the Community Education Department.  The Director of Community Education has been assigned the responsibility for reviewing and approving all education and training programs for adherence to the CEU Criteria.  Only those activities, which have been approved by the Director of Community Education, will be allowed to award CEU.

CEU Certificate
After a workshop concludes, participants receive a certificate from Little Priest Tribal College.  Depending on the type of workshop, the certificate may be available immediately upon completion of the workshop, or you will receive it via US mail within two weeks completing the workshop.

CEU Fee Schedule
A $50.00 building fee is charged for organizations wanting to rent the use of LPTC facilities and another fee starting at $25.00 is charged for registration per participant.  If any revenue is generated from various workshops it is always put back into the department account to provide continued service. 

Payment Information
Payment is due at the time of registration.  You may pay by check, money order, or cash.  Special arrangements are allowable for organizations using purchase orders.  Fees must be paid in advance to guarantee your placement in the workshop.

Refund Policy

Refunds normally take 4 to 6 weeks to process.  If an exception to this policy is required it will be noted on the respective registration form.

100% or full refund
You may receive a full refund if you provide written cancellation at least five (5) working days prior to the courses start date.  Full refunds are issued for courses cancelled by LPTC.

80% or Partial Refund
If you withdrawal with 48 hours of the onset of the course, you will receive a refund minus a LPTC filing fee of 20% of the total.

No Refund
If you withdrawal after the onset of the course, no refund will be awarded.

Written Notice
All cancellations and/or withdrawals must be received in writing according to timelines stated in Refund Policy.

Registration Options

1. Phone-in: You may call the Community Education Department between the hours of 8:00am and 4:30pm Monday through Friday to register for any workshops.  The registration information can be either faxed or mailed to you for you signature.

2. Mail-in: Registration forms can be accessed from the LPTC website or requested by phone or fax and sent back via US mail or fax.

3. Walk-in: Registration information is available in the Community Education office anytime during regular working hours.  Forms may be completed and handed directly to one of the Community Education staff members.

4. Fax: Registration forms may be requested and sent back to our office via facsimile.

5. E-mail: Registration forms can be accessed from our website or requested by email.  Completed registration forms can be returned via email; however, signatures are needed in order to process CEU’s.

6. Voice Mail: Detailed messages requesting registration forms may be left for Community Education staff.  The information will then be sent to the specified destination.

Community Education Department Contact Information:

Director: Sharon Redhorn-Chamberlain
Email address: sredhorn@lptc.bia.edu

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 270, Winnebago, NE 68071
Telephone: (402) 878-2380
Fax: (402) 878-2355
Website: http://www.lptc.bia.edu

Attendance Policy
We encourage 100% attendance of students in classes or workshops.  They may have unforeseen circumstances dictate their attendance.  They should call the college and leave a message for the Community Education office of their upcoming absence.

Continuing Education requires a specified amount of training and workshops.  Therefore, Little Priest Tribal College is diligent about verifying attendance and the number of total minutes, and contact hours the students present.  We issue our Certificates and assign the appropriate CEU value according to the attendance records and periodic spot checks of sessions underway.  A student attending less than 80% of total contact hours will receive a Certificate of Attendance.  This verifies their hours of attendance, but does not give a CEU value.

Substitutions
Substitutions will be accepted up to the onset of the course.  You must contact the Community Education Department staff prior to the start of the course if you are going to substitute for a registered participant.

Postponement/Cancellation Policy
It is the desire to offer sufficient training opportunities to the community.  We seek out qualified individuals to become Instructors for the Community Education Office of Little Priest Tribal College.  However, there are unforeseen circumstances that can change the date of a scheduled workshop.  We will promote the workshop to the local community and surrounding communities with flyers and brochures.  If we do not receive adequate registrations or commitments before the workshop is scheduled to begin, we may choose to postpone the workshop to a later date in order to secure enough participants.  If our efforts to secure enough participants are not fruitful, we will regretfully cancel the workshop.  It is the intent of Little Priest Tribal College to fulfill training requests received by the Community Education Office.  We keep in mind the business aspect, that is, there must be enough paying customers to pay the instructor. 

Inclement Weather Policy
When the weather is hazardous, our office gets many calls asking about the status of scheduled classes and workshops.  If there is a doubt about weather a scheduled class will hold, please contact the Director of Community Education at (402) 878-2380, ext. 158.  If the Director is unavailable, please leave a message that you need notification that the class is not being held at the scheduled time.  Little Priest Tribal College notifies local media when they close for inclement weather.  If the workshop is scheduled in another building, and they have announced their closing, the workshop is cancelled and will be rescheduled.   

Confidentially of Records
LPTC abides by the Family Educational Rights Act of 1974, enacted as Section 438 of the General Education Provisions Act, which stipulates student information that is considered “private” may not be shared with any outside agency or individual who is not designated on a release of confidential information form that has been signed by the student.

Documentation & Maintenance of Records
Little Priest Tribal College closely tracks and verifies the attendance of registered participants and maintains files.  Records dating back five years or longer will be archived.  

Excellence, Tradition, & Culture coming together as one.....Little Priest Tribal College

This Institution is an Equal Opportunity provider and employer.