Unlimited Learning, Inc. (UL) is a non-profit, 501 c3 organization, serving the Four Corners region of Colorado. Its services extend through a vast rural area that incudes Montezuma and Dolores Counties, along with the Navajo and Ute Mountain Ute Reservations and residents in surrounding communities. What We Do UL provides education and training through its Unlimited Learning Center (ULC), located in Cortez, Colorado, and offers classes to adult students through face-to-face and live-video instruction, using state of the art equipment. ULC focuses on job training with academic support for participants who may need additional assistance. Recent examples of trainings conducted at ULC include Certified Nursing Assistant, Emergency Medical Responder, Phlebotomy, CPR, First Aid, as well as Commercial Driver’s License training, Adult Basic Education, and S.T.E.M. courses. We also work with local businesses and groups to customize specific trainings for specific skills. In addition, our modern facilities serve the community for hosting business and other planning meetings with instructional rooms, conference room, and available large-screen videoconference equipment. Collaboration ULC believes in both supporting and collaborating with community businesses and organizations. "For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.” – Rudyard Kipling. Our History Under the leadership and vision of its founder, Ann Miller, The Montezuma and Dolores Counties Adult Education Program was established in 1976 to provide educational services to the rural, multicultural population residing in the Four Corners region of Colorado. Southwest Board of Cooperative Services (SWBCS), a rural collaborative educational entity, was originally designated as the fiscal flow-through agency for the program’s federal funding. Starting in 1993, the Adult Education Program, now Unlimited Learning, Inc., began working with the College of Eastern Utah – San Juan Campus, now Utah State University-Blanding, in collaborative grant writing projects, the largest of which was the multimillion STAR Schools Grant, serving educational entities in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. The focus of the six-year grant was to train teachers to incorporate various forms of technology into their curriculum and classroom instruction. The Adult Education Program was the lead agency for the grant in southwest Colorado, providing the technical training for teachers in the area. |
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In 2005, the Adult Education Program applied for and was awarded a 501 c (3) non-profit status and became known as Unlimited Learning, Inc. In 2006, Unlimited Learning, Inc. wrote and was awarded a Department of Agriculture “Distance Education and Telemedicine” grant of $430,300 for the purchase of distance education equipment. In the fall of 2006, the Unlimited Learning Center began using its equipment to offer credit courses, certificates, and degrees through live interactive teleconferencing from educational institutions. The first class, Beginning Navajo, was the “beta-test” for our distance ed delivery system. The class was so successful that in the spring semester of 2007, the Medical Coding certification program was started. Medical coding students graduated in August 2008, having not only completed their training and internships, but also passing the national licensing exams and acquiring on-line coding jobs from major coding industries. Increasing numbers of residents in our two counties and beyond are finding that our distance education option is the answer to their training and college needs, in the face of the continuing rise in the cost of living, especially in gas prices! Other funding sources have equipped our Center with state-of-the-art video-broadcasting systems and computers to allow students to access the best onsite and online instruction. |