CUNY SPS Recognizes the Office of Innovative Learning Solutions’ Impact on City and State Workforce

The CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) celebrates the School’s Office of Innovative Learning Solutions (ILS) during Workforce Development Month.

This annual observance, created in 2005 by the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) to honor workforce professionals, is a fitting opportunity to highlight ILS' work and the impact it has on New York.

"It's an honor to lead this mighty team of over 200 learning and development professionals whose mission is to boost organizational effectiveness and lift individual careers through our transformative learning programs," said ILS Executive Director Amy Perez. "We do this work every day and collaborate with and support New York City, state and non-profit agencies to help them achieve their goals and ultimately improve the lives of New Yorkers."

Since ILS' inception, more than 300,000 professionals from New York, the metro region and the country have benefited from its work. The unit manages a portfolio of $48 million in grants and contracts and during the past fiscal year more than 39,000 people have taken a course in one of its 14 programs.

Recent program highlights include:

• The unit changed its name to better reflect its work and impact.

•  The Academy for Community Behavioral Health continued to offer new, advanced, cohort-based courses that deepen learning and allow for comprehensive skills practice, including Principles of Grief Support, Integrating Art & Creative Expression in Communities to support children and young people impacted by violence, and Deep Roots: Practices to Heal Complex Trauma.

• The Academy’s first cohort of 15 Youth Mental Health Advocates (YMHA) (pictured in the photo above) completed nine months of specialized training, coaching, and part-time work in community-based organizations in June. The YMHA program is a multi-year pilot that equips young people as leaders in normalizing conversations about mental health, making care more accessible, and sharing behavioral health skills. This program is part of Working the Gap, a collaboration with the CUNY SPS Youth Studies Program.

• The Training Technology, eLearning, and Direct Training Services Program partnership with the NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) broke new ground by using artificial intelligence (AI) to make generating audio for some of its eLearning modules more efficient. The partnership also built and continues to expand new applications to enhance support for OCFS training operations.

• The Energy Management Institute program offered classes that include hands-on training: Passive House and Renewable Energy 101.

• The Department of Homeless Services (DHS) Financial Independence Now program incorporated newly enhanced components into the course, including an animated learning platform navigation video designed to assist with self-paced eLearning modules completion, as well as a 90-minute, live, virtual instructor-led Module Content Review and Implementation session featuring gamification elements. As a result, course completion increased by 11% over the previous year and, on average, 84% of respondents answered knowledge assessment questions about credit, debt, and overall financial security correctly.

• The OCSS Training Institute significantly increased the number of custodial and non-custodial parents attending child support-related courses in the last two years, expanding to more than 1,000 participants, by implementing improved outreach and flexible learning methods.

• The Department of Social Services (DSS) Department of Homeless Services (DHS) Staff Learning & Development Program created micro classes using a new AI software that provides a faster development cycle, giving learners quicker access to essential information. The first microlearning launched and received positive feedback from stakeholders and staff.

• The DSS DHS Staff Learning & Development Program also designed and launched the City Family Housing Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) in-person boot camps for DHS and Human Resources Administration (HRA). These sessions, designed for rental subsidy packet submitters and reviewers across DSS, were aimed at enhancing the quality of CityFHEPS housing subsidy applications. The boot camp is a professional development opportunity which enhances the client's community impact for more efficient and effective rehousing.

"The relationship between the DSS Office of Training & Workforce Development and the CUNY SPS ILS team is a blueprint for successful strategic partnerships," said Deputy Commissioner Terrance Stroud for the DSS Office of Training and Workforce Development. "Their collaborative approach is vital to ensuring that our agency meets its learning and development goals."

Stroud's office administers the DSS DHS Staff Learning & Development Program and the Anti-Bias Trauma Informed Training Program.

Among ILS' areas of expertise include designing, implementing, and scaling up learning programs tailored to stakeholders’ needs, building learning management systems and supportive technology, and creating and supporting a variety of instructor-led training platforms.

"Our commitment to customer service, centering client collaboration, and creative use of technology has resulted in successful partnerships, some of which are in their 15th year," Perez said.

About the Office of Innovative Learning Solutions

The Office of Innovative Learning Solutions (ILS) was established in 2006 by the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) with the belief that a great urban university should pay attention to the needs of the city. ILS’ mission is to enhance organizational effectiveness and elevate individual careers through the design and implementation of transformative learning programs. In FY24, the unit managed 14 programs in partnership with city, state, and non-profit organizations with a $48 million budget and trained more than 39,000 people.

About the CUNY School of Professional Studies

As New York's leading online school since 2006, the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) offers the most online bachelor's and master's degree options at the City University of New York, and serves as the University's first undergraduate all-transfer college. With 26 degrees and numerous other non-degree and grant-funded workplace learning programs, CUNY SPS meets the needs of adults who wish to finish a bachelor's degree, progress from an associate's degree, earn a master's degree or certificate in a specialized field, and advance in the workplace or change careers. Consistently ranked highly by U.S. News & World Report for its online offerings, CUNY SPS has emerged as a nationwide leader in online education. The School's renowned and affordable online programs ensure that busy working adults may fulfill their educational goals on their own time and schedule.

Press Contact
Prerna Dar
CUNY SPS Chief Marketing Officer
Prerna.dar@cuny.edu