The Eppley Center for Parks and Public Lands has partnered with IU Online to offer Eppley’s online courses on IU Expand, Indiana University’s portal to noncredit, professional, and continuing education programs.
Administered by IU Online and UITS’ Learning Technologies, IU Expand is typically used to provide small business training, language and culture training, student support training, and professional training, as well as supplemental classroom preparation. Content is housed within the university’s Canvas learning management system.
Established in 1993 and part of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community (IIDC) since 2020, the Eppley Center conducts research on parks and public lands management and offers training and resources to those working in the field of parks and public lands. Clients have included the National Park Service, the US Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, state and local park agencies, and nonprofit organizations. In 2023, Eppley served 19,000 people in 38 agencies and communities and provided 53,000 hours of professional training overall (online and on site).
One platform, many benefits
Eppley had previously hosted its training materials on an independent course management system, but IIDC Director Derek Nord saw the strategic value of having all IIDC training materials on one platform. “We want users—whether they are members of the public, researchers, partners, or funding organizations—to have a positive and seamless experience when they visit us,” he said. “Plus, we’re proud to have IU’s brand and reputation behind us. And as we look to the future, we’re excited about how we can leverage AI and other technologies.”
According to retired Eppley Director Steve Wolter, IU Expand is a perfect fit for Eppley’s needs. “It features a searchable course index, course descriptions, and secure registration and payment. Moreover, it offers the great advantage of being supported by Indiana University’s technology teams. We can also offer badging and microcredentials through IU Expand if we decide to do so in the future.”
A Herculean effort made easier
The IU Expand support team, which consists of technology and administrative experts from both IU Online and Learning Technologies, met regularly with Eppley to troubleshoot, provide solutions, and fix technical issues. To kick off the migration of Eppley’s courses to IU Expand, the Expand team gave Eppley’s project management team a tour of the IU Expand system and taught them how to create listings. Eppley worked with partners from Learning Technologies to address inquiries critical to the transition of Eppley courses into Canvas.
In the space of three weeks, Eppley was able to migrate 107 courses into IU Expand with minimal help from the Expand team. They even set up their own custom-designed certificate of completion for each course.
The initial migration, and first launch of coursework, was completed in March 2024. Since then, Eppley has listed 243 courses, welcomed 11,447 enrollments, and seen more than 7,400 course completions. It has collected more than $53,000 in revenue.
Popular courses include Foundations of Interpretation (2,011 enrollments), Everglades National Park Online Boater Education (1,811 enrollments), The Wilderness Act of 1964 (920 enrollments), and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Boater Education (475 enrollments). Two of these courses are offered completely in Spanish, a first for IU Expand.
Why choose IU Expand?
An important and distinct advantage of IU Expand is that it allows content providers to reach a vast number of new audiences. Learners self-enroll with IU credentials or with an easy-to-create IU guest account. IU Expand is a no- or low-cost global gateway to IU-created content.
Eppley Project Manager Kate Wiltz noted how easy it’s been to work with the IU Expand team. “Working with IU Expand has been amazing. They come at projects with a customer service attitude and problem-solving mentality.”
Nord agreed. “IU Expand has been very helpful in thinking through how we can use this infrastructure to meet our clients’ needs. They ask, ‘How can we make it happen?’ We’ll keep using IU Expand, because training and community-based education are core to IIDC’s mission; and IU Expand is the platform that allows us to fulfill that mission.”
User-friendly course creation
Faculty or staff wanting to create coursework through IU Expand can get started by following these steps:
- Develop course content using Canvas.
- Submit a course proposal form to IU Online.
- Obtain a departmental sponsor.
- Identify a lead administrator to manage course listings in the IU Expand catalog.
Courses can be launched in IU Expand in as little as one week.
Learn more about IU Expand course creation by contacting the dedicated IU Expand team at iuexpand@iu.edu.