IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON EDUCATION, VOL. E-19, NO. 3, AUGUST 1976

How Well?How well the technical training performs its desired purpose

is difficult to answer. Because technical training is job-on-ented, the employee's annual performance review is one sub-jective evaluation of training. In an effort to be somewhatmore objective, EPR uses student critiques of each course toevaluate its scope and presentation. In some courses, EPR usesbefore-and-after tests to evaluate the learning that took place.At the conclusion of each course, the lead instructor analyzesthe critiques or test results and prepares a short report relatinggoals to accomplishments and recommending any changes tobe made in the course prior to its next presentation.

CONCLUDING COMMENTLike other technology-intensive companies, EPR recognizes

the importance of professional technical training. EPR ana-lyzes its production technical training program each year tokeep it closely aligned with the needs of the operating affil-iates and with the business objectives of the parent corpora-tion. The program includes support and encouragement ofindividual action, if the primary initiative to obtain traininglies with the employee. In cases where the company shouldtake the initiative it provides instructors, materials, and time.Judging from the increasing participation of EPR and world-wide affiliated personnel in this training program, it is meetingExxon's needs.

REFERENCES[1 J "Continuing education for R&D careers," National Science Foun-dation, Rep. NS69-20, 1969.

A Place to LearnHARRIETTE R. BEHRINGER

Abtrct-This paper describes one corporation's commitment toemployee training, and explains the functions and facilities of its newtraining center.

NE of the world's largest and most innovative training14) centers is hidden from view among the green Virginia

hills near the historic town of Leesburg. It is theXerox International Center for Training and ManagementDevelopment-a 40 acre complex on a 2265 acre site withliving and learning accommodations for 1014 students.Who goes to school there?Students are all Xerox employees, both "new hires" and

veterans. A permanent, full-time staff of about 500 people inadministration, education research and development, teaching,food, housing, and maintenance services is on hand to supportthe needs of the student population.Located in Loudoun County about 30 miles northwest of

Washington, DC, the Center is unique in many respects. Itopened on June 2, 1974. The decision to build a centralizedtraining facility was not undertaken lightly, and its final designaccurately reflects the corporation's thinking. Willard H.Duetting, director of the Center, offers some historical back-ground."Although the decision to build the Center was made in mid

1971, the concept had long been a gleam in the corporate

Manuscript received February 15, 1976.The author is with the Xerox International Center for Training and

Management Development, Leesburg, VA.

eye," Duetting explained. "The thinking went like this: Oursenior management considered how every corporation worthits salt exists to serve some human need. Xerox, certainly noexception, offers products and services that address one of themost fundamental of human needs-the need for information.To satisfy that need, information must be disciplined-givenshape and structure.Consider all the things you do with information every day:

at various times you store it, retrieve it, manipulate it to yourneeds, communicate it to others, reproduce it for others toreview, and display it in convenient ways. Xerox is involved ineach of the modes of structuring information. And from thatrealization came the next concept: that our sophisticatedproducts-from microfilm systems to color copiers to elec-tronic typewriters to highspeed copier/duplicators-willbecome more and more sophisticated. This will happen withgreater frequency and complexity as Xerox research con-tinues to define the information needs of the business envi-ronment.However, we realize that new products, however sophis-

ticated, do not sell themselves; new products, however,cleverly designed, need service in the field to function at topefficiency. The key to both sales and service, and to our cor-poration's continuing success, is our cadre of sales and servicerepresentatives.Of course, like all industries, we always had training pro-

grams, but in 1971 our facilities were scattered across thecountry. Each took a different approach to the curriculum.

103

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON EDUCATION, AUGUST 1976

Instructional quality was not consistent. And the sales andservice schools had very little contact with one another,Duetting continued."Today," he added, "we have gotten it all together."Now, sales and service students live and learn side by side in

two terraced buildings which are the essence of a complextotaling more than one million square feet, and built at a costexceeding $70 million.What were the concepts underlying the design?The distinctive "layered look" of the Center arose from

interior spatial designs developed to achieve the most effectiveliving/learning environment, according to the Center's archi-tects, Vincent G. Kling & Partners, of Philadelphia."The integrated living/learning areas made this project

truly different. In most training situations, students sleep inhotel rooms and have meals and recreation where they please.Here we have 1014 private bedrooms, a dining room that canseat up to 700 students at one time, a snack bar, cocktaillounge, scores of classrooms and laboratories, a barber shop,beauty shop, newsstand, gift shop, resource center which alsohouses a traveling art exhibit, a health service area, gamelounges of all sizes-in fact, all facilities necessary to live andleam successfully," Duetting continued.

Visitors who only see the commons and residential areasmight come away with the impression that they have just seena contemporary hotel. Actually, the hotel aspect of theCenter is quite important. For example, there is constantattention to the needs and reactions of the student/guests."Students are surveyed every three months on all aspects of

the Center-everything from instructor performance tolaundry quality. These surveys are used as guidelines to con-stantly improve the quality of service," Duetting added.A heavy proportion of administrative time goes into student

and facility scheduling. The Center receives from Xeroxlocations ("the field") names of students who are to attendclasses, assigns them to the proper classes, and confirms theregistration. Concurrently, classrooms, laboratories, equip-ment, and sleeping rooms must be allocated. A travel sectionissues airline tickets and mails them along with descriptiveinformation, to students in advance of arrival. Bus trans-portation to the Center from Washington's National and Dullesairports, where reception desks are staffed by travel represen-tatives to meet incoming trainees, is provided.

It is the learning operation, however, which is the focus ofthe student's stay at the Xerox Training Center.The learning scheme is built on small classes, usually of ten

students or less, in classrooms equipped with the most effi-cient AV/TV support that technology could devise. (Class-rooms are unusual-octagonal in shape rather than rectangular.Because it has no identifiable "front" the octagon dispels thetraditional image of the instructor standing at the "head of theclass" as the authority figure.)Learning-in-the-round atmosphere encourages student

involvement and helps students learn from each other, aswell as from the instructor.The 88 large and small classrooms are octagon shaped and

each has an AV/TV wall, eliminating the need for the in-structor to set up and take away equipment within the

classroom. The wall includes a 25-inch monitor, a switchableaudio amplification system connected to ceiling speakers, avideo cassette machine, and a rear projection screen to displayslides. A communication panel connects classrooms to amaster control and provides a remote RF channel inputselection, projection and playback equipment start-stop,lighting and audio control, and two-way communication withthe role-play rooms, which adjoin all the sales classrooms. Inthe role-play situation, students learn professional selling skills.The "customer" is the instructor, who usually pretends to bereluctant. The student becomes an on-the-job Sales Represen-tative in the role-play room, and the interchange is videotapedand replayed before the entire class. Thus, students learn fromsimulated real life situations how to discover and correct theirown mistakes. (See Fig. 1.)

In addition to role-play rooms, both sales and service class-rooms are also equipped with pull-down screens, chalkboards,display walls, modular and moveable desks, and deeply uphol-stered reclining chairs that swivel and move about on castersfor instant regrouping.Near each classroom is a spacious, well-equipped lab where

students learn the inner workings of various Xerox machines.Service courses cover all major Xerox copier/duplicator prod-ucts, and new products keep the training center constantlybusy. (See Fig. 2.)Instructors and students alike have applauded the self-

paced instruction whereby some students can finish a coursein four and a half weeks, while others may take up to seven.Both service and sales schools have instituted night classes andlabs on a volunteer basis. The sales school finds labs in com-petitive equipment and supplemental televised skill-buildingprograms especially popular. Both are evening programs-afterthe student has been in class from 8:15 a.m. to 5:00 pm.,with time-out for two coffee breaks and lunch.The intensive courses for Xerox employees at Leesburg, VA,

have caught the attention of the higher education community.In a recent development, the American Council of Educationhas recommended (after reviewing training curriculum, man-agement practices, evaluation procedures, and records) thatcolleges and community colleges grant educational credits toXerox employees who have successfully completed certainservice training courses.This means that Technical Representatives who study at the

Center will get a boost toward an Associate Degree or Voca-tional Certificate, since colleges throughout the U.S. andCanada will accept the credit recommendations.Another new event at the service school is cooperative

Indian training at the Madera, CA, Employment TrainingCenter. Jim Hood, formerly a Technical Instructor atLeesburg, developed the program and was assigned to be theresident Xerox representative. He began teaching his first classof five Indian students on November 17, 1975. The MaderaCenter is a responsibility of American Indian Enterprises, anAmerican Indian firm which operates under contract to theBureau of Indian Affairs. Students complete a program whichequips them with technical skills necessary to succeed in entry-level trainee positions in electromechanical technologies, andassures them of employment with Xerox upon successful com-

104

BEHRINGER: A PLACE TO LEARN

Fig. 2. A service school instructor (right) points out the internalmechanism of a machine to a lab student.

Fig. 1. The role play situation alows a student (left) to act out a hypo-thetical sales visit. The instructor takes the role of the potentialcustomer. Later, the tape wil be critiqued by the student, the in-structor, and the other class members. All sales classrooms at theXerox training center are equipped with adjacent role play rooms.

pletion of the course. The first class graduated on January 16,1976, with all students placed in jobs within Xerox branches.Who are the instructors at Leesburg?They are Xerox employees who have been recommended by

their respective branches to teach at the Center because of out-standing track records in Sales or Service."They are really tops among the Xerox population,"

Duetting pointed out. "They come here for a two year tour ofduty, and most are promoted into managerial and supervisorypositions when they leave. We have a staff of educators who'train the trainers' in such areas as classroom management,lesson planning, and counseling."These educational experts form their own special depart-

ment, education services, and represent another innovation inindustrial training from the Xerox point of view. The edu-cation services people, working side by side with Xeroxtraining managers in Rochester, NY, help determine what shallbe taught, and research and recommend the best way to teachit. Lately the focus of education services has been expandedto emphasize evaluation.Are the students learning in the most effective and efficient

manner? Are we teaching in the most effective and efficientmanner? And, most important, is the Center teaching themwhat they need to learn?To address these difficult questions, education services is

surveying the progress of former students to learn if they are

working at the expected level of performance, and if theLeesburg training is affecting this performance."Although this tracking has just started," Duetting

commented, "we are already receiving strong indications thatour training programs are doing the job for which they wereintended."Another on-going and vital job of education services is cur-

riculum development. When a training need is identified, theeducation services group must then determine what skillsand behaviors a student must develop in a particular course.This analysis requires lengthy research, which includes in-terviewing successful managers and representatives to learnwhat makes them successful."We also examine the student population," said Duetting

"and develop a composite picture of a man or woman Xeroxhires to fill a certain kind ofjob. We evaluate the students'capabilities when they come here, and what we want them tohave when they leave. In planning our curriculum we want toconcentrate on their real needs rather than on skills they mayalready have."From all this research, curriculum designers establish what

the course will contain, and the priorities and sequence of thelearning modules. The Leesburg people then determnine thebest method for teaching each module. The course goesthrough further evaluation and revision, depending upon in-structor and student reaction, before being added to the cur-riculum. A well-designed program can take six months todevelop, from the time the need is first expressed.Another area of the Center has attracted attention not only

from business but from fitness enthusiasts and sports fans.This is the Fitness and Recreation Center where specialistsdevelop individualized fitness programs-exercise and activ-ities students can continue to work on when they returnhome.The facility boasts an impressive list of indoor and outdoor

leisure activities. The recreation center itself houses a doublegym (12 000 sq. ft.) and a single gym (6000 sq. ft.) Togetherthey offer mechanical treadmills, a weight-exercise machine,two basketball courts, four volleyball courts, four badmintoncourts, and indoor jogging track, two squash courts, and twohandball courts.

105

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON EDUCATION, VOL. E-19, NO. 3, AUGUST 1976

But that's only the indoor facility. Outside are four lightedtennis courts, four paddle tennis courts, four practice walls, amile-long jogging trail, a 25-yard swimming pool, a softballdiamond, a football/soccer field, an 18-hole putting green,bicycle paths, nature trails, two basketball courts, three volley-ball courts, two horseshoe courts, and two badminton courts.There are quieter activities, also, including chess or checkerstournaments, table games, billiards, table tennis, and a naturetrail that winds through the woods to Goose Creek and thePotomac River.Since the Center opened in 1974, it has focused exclusively

on sales and service training-largely because of the trainingrequirements brought about by the new Xerox products. Inearly 1976, however, management training and developmentwas introduced. Three major projects are on the drawingboard. The first project is a training program for middlemanagers, those who have two levels of management reportingto them."What's really exciting about this," Duetting commented,

"is not that it is the first management training program createdat Leesburg, but that it is the first such program developedon an international scale. Not only will U.S. Operations beusing it, but so will Rank Xerox, the Latinamerican Groupand Xerox of Canada."The second major project is coordinating all Xerox manage-

ment training programs, again on an international basis.To do this, the Center acts as a liaison between the various

operating groups to determine and compare the success ofcurrent training programs, and serves also as a catalyst forexchanging new ideas.

Fig. 3.

The third project is managing a program for senior managers.This involves a series of seminars covering such things as long-range strategic planning, human and organizational problems.the Xerox economic environment, and corporate social re-sponsibilities.Future planning for the Center will emphasize improvement

of the schools and services, Duetting said. "When we opened,we said this was a place to learn. That it was tangible evidenceof the company's commitment to the excellence of Xeroxpeople. We remain dedicated to that commitment." (SeeFig. 3.)

Continuing Education at the Lawrence LivermoreLaboratoryALFRED H. CASSELL

Abstract-This paper discusses the philosophy, organization, and ra-tionale of the Continuing Education program for engineers and scien-tists at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in Livermore, CA. Theimportance of diversified offerings designed to fit the needs of the indi-vidual is stressed, as is the recognition that continuing education is notnecessarily confined to the traditional teacher-student relationship. Theimpact of the video cassette player is discussed for employees unable tomeet rigid class schedules, as are the television links to the major uni-versities in Northern California.

THE Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, located in Liver-more, CA, is engaged in basic nuclear and energy re-search. The Laboratory, a part of the University of Cali-

fornia, has developed a program of on-going continuing educa-tion for its employees which is devoted to the goal of "pro-viding opportunities for advancement and self-improvement

Manuscript received February 1, 1976.The author is with the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, University of

California, Livermore, CA 94550.

of all employees" in those areas which are relevant to the pro-gram needs of the Laboratory.The present educational program was designed with two

major goals in mind.

1) To provide opportunities for each individual to maintainand expand his competence in scientific and technologicalareas.

2) To provide the stimulus which will enable people to re-main creative in their contribution to Laboratory programs.

The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory is operated for the En-ergy Research and Development Administration. As a leadingresearch and development laboratory, the problem of continu-ing to maintain a creative and enthusiastic engineering andscientific staff has always been of prime consideration.Although the interest of the Laboratory in continuing educa-tion is a long standing one, the use of formalized in-houseeducational programs for this purpose began in &k964. Prior

106