Gateway Moves into Odd Fellows Hall in Covington; Expansion Part of Urban Campus Growth

Gateway Community & Technical College has moved into temporary quarters on the fourth floor of the Odd Fellows Hall at 6 East 5th Street near the intersection of Fifth and Madison in downtown Covington.

The leased space houses the colleges Instructional Design and Learning (IDL) Technology and Visual Communication (VC) programs. Classes began Monday in the new-to-Gateway location. IDL is a new program offered for the first time this semester. The VC program has relocated downtown from Gateway's campus at 1025 Amsterdam Road in Covington.

This is another step toward the formation of the Urban Campus, said Gateway President and CEO Ed Hughes. These programs will move into the Gateway Technology and Design Center at 522 Madison Ave., in the former Marx building, when renovations there are complete.

The temporary space at the Odd Fellows Hall is also the main location for the Center for eLearning, Gateway's distance learning arm, and 10 faculty and staff offices. The open-concept space formerly occupied by TiER1 Performance Solutions is being used to deliver hybrid courses, with lecture delivery online and hands-on lab work performed on computer equipment, including desktops, laptops and iPads.
The Gateway space is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and to students only for evening classes that begin at 5:30 p.m.

We are very excited to offer additional classes and programs in downtown Covington, Hughes said. Not only does this expansion bring us another step closer to the Urban Campus, it also offers accessible, affordable training opportunities in growing, high-tech fields to urban residents.

The IDL program is being developed under a $4.9 million federal Department of Labor grant in partnership with Covingtons TiER1 Performance Solutions. When fully implemented, the IDL program will be the first of its kind at the associate degree level in the nation.

Instructional design focuses on systems, methods and technologies used to deliver information and instruction, said Patricia Goodman, Gateway vice president for knowledge management and strategic initiatives, who spearheaded the grant and is overseeing program development. This is a growing field that offers high-skill, high-demand and high-wage jobs related to the information technology industry.

An instructional designer designs and develops learning experiences that integrate skills in writing, web design, graphics, collaboration, and planning with the knowledge of how people learn. Job opportunities related to instructional design include distance learning coordinator, instructional coordinator, multimedia artist/animator, and training and development specialists.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates a 22 percent increase in demand for these jobs in Kentucky by 2018, to more than 2,500 jobs, Goodman said. Kentuckys median annual wage for such jobs ranges from $45,000 to $63,000 a year. As an instructional designer, a new graduate can expect to earn $30,000 to $35,000 a year directly out of Gateway's IDL program. They can also transfer to a four-year university for a bachelors degree.

Hughes noted it isnt too late to enroll at Gateway this spring. We have a 12-week term that begins Feb. 7 and an eight-week term that starts March 18, he said. Our admissions staff is ready to answer questions and help anyone interested through the admissions and enrollment process.

To enroll, visit gateway.kctcs.edu or call (859) 441-4500.