American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT) Pre-Approves Northcentral University's MFT Supervision Methods Course

Calling it a course that potentially sets the bar and standard for any similar course requests it may receive in the future, the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT) has pre-approved Northcentral University’s doctoral MFT Supervision Methods Course, according to an announcement made today by Dr. Branden Henline, Chair of Northcentral University’s Marriage and Family Therapy Programs.

“Our MFT Supervision Methods Course is the first online course to ever be pre-approved by the AAMFT,” Dr. Henline said today. “This is a groundbreaking achievement not only for this University but also for everyone everywhere who is dedicated to proving that an online educational platform can become a viable, secure, and ultimately productive way to prepare tomorrow’s generation of marriage and family therapists. The pre-approval of this course demonstrates that the national MFT community is interested in and committed to identifying high quality online solutions that meet the very real and growing need for new educational alternatives to traditional training methods.”

According to Dr. Henline, the AAMFT course review process took nearly two years to complete and is the result of the combined efforts of his work with the AAMFT, as well as Dr. Georgie Winter, Dr. James Billings, and Dr. Peter Bradley, all from Northcentral University. “This achievement is shared by all of us who have played a significant role in developing and revising the course to meet the AAMFT’s demanding requirements for rigor and interactivity.”

Indeed, in pre-approving the University’s MFT Supervision Methods Course, the AAMFT stated that it focused on a few critical aspects in making its decision. Does the course satisfy the component to ensure the confidentiality of the materials? Does the proposed use of technology ensure a secure environment? Does the online component have the technical ability to establish face-to-face interaction and a quality experience?

“So far, the AAMFT has not received a course proposal that has satisfied these concerns — until now,” stated Dorothy Bose, M.Ed., Member Specialist of the AAMFT. “We are pleased that your course proposal has taken all these considerations into account. We appreciate and admire your efforts to provide rigorous and comprehensive training for prospective supervisors in marriage and family therapy. This has been an unprecedented endeavor and this course will potentially set the bar and standard for any similar course requests we may receive in the future.”

Offered within the Northcentral University doctoral degree program in Marriage and Family Therapy, the MFT Supervision Methods Course introduces the fundamentals of systemic supervision with an emphasis on the importance of contextual variables such as culture, SES, and ethnicity. There is also an exploration of the impact of gender on the supervisory relationship. The design of the course meets the criteria for the 30-hour supervision fundamentals course for the AAMFT Approved Supervisor credential. The intention is for the course also to be useful for any professional who is actively engaged in clinical supervision. Learning methods include short writing exercises and 15 hours of participant involvement in videoconferences with colleagues and the course mentor. During the videoconferences there are also critiques of vignettes, role-playing exercises, and discussion of short papers.

This is the second recent major recognition accorded to Northcentral University’s Marriage and Family Therapy degree programs. Earlier this month, the California Department of Consumer Affairs Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) announced that Northcentral’s Marriage and Family Therapy master’s degree program had been approved as meeting its educational requirements for licensure. In doing so, the University joined a select number of regionally accredited online universities, and the first university based outside of the state of California to meet the rigorous standards established by the BBS.

Northcentral University's clinically-focused Marriage and Family Therapy MA and PhD degree programs can lead to a career as a licensed therapist and can prepare students for therapeutic and educational careers in a variety of settings including private practice, mental-health centers, public-service agencies, correctional institutions, the military and schools.

These degrees provide an integrated learning experience that explores family and couple dynamics, family therapy models and interventions, therapy with children and adolescents, couple’s therapy, working with people in crisis, issues related to gender and diversity, individual and family development, ethics and current research in family therapy. Degree requirements also involve ongoing clinical work and supervision. The degree offerings prepare students for a professional practice consistent with their personal goals. The fact that the coursework is designed to meet the BBS’ rigorous requirements ensures that the education and training received reflects the highest academic and ethical standards.

Northcentral offers the following MFT graduate degree programs:

* Master of Arts (MA) in Marriage and Family Therapy
This program develops the personal and professional skills necessary for an effective practice and is designed to meet national standards so graduates can seek licensure in the area where they reside. Individuals are encouraged to review their own local licensure regulations in order to ensure that this program meets their needs.

* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Marriage and Family Therapy
This program offers advanced clinical education and training, opportunities to develop specializations tailored to individual interests, research coursework and opportunities, and supervision training and experience. As a PhD graduate, individuals will be prepared to carry out advanced clinical work and supervision and/or education and research in the field of marriage and family therapy. Doctoral Specializations are available in General Family Therapy, Child and Adolescent Therapy, Couple Therapy, Medical Family Therapy, and Therapy with Military Families.

ELAN g! Home Control System Awarded 2011 Platinum Level Mark Of Excellence By CEA TechHome Division

Capping a three-month period that has seen record orders for its ELAN g! Series System, ELAN Home Systems today announced that its revolutionary IP-based home control system has received the Platinum Level 2011 Mark Of Excellence Award by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) in the category of “Best Control System”. The announcement and presentation of the award was made at the Spring 2011 EHX Show in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center.


“The ELAN g! Home Control System changes everything, and for the better,” said Paul Starkey, President of ELAN Home Systems. “It is easy to sell, demonstrate, and install, and it’s equally easy for customers to enjoy, maintain and upgrade in the future. In our opinion, ELAN g! is the most intuitive, modular, and cost-effective way for customers to realize the full benefits of whole home automation.”

The Mark of Excellence Awards program, presented by CEA's TechHome Division, recognizes the best in home electronics products, services, and installed technology. Each year manufacturers, distributors, and systems integrators enter to compete in award categories for this coveted honor judged by independent experts within the industry.

The ELAN g! Series Home Control System provides users with the most uniform and intuitive icon-based control from their favorite devices, including TVs, touchscreens, touchpads, PCs , iPhones, and iPads. The standardized interface works across platforms, so that the trendy g!Mobile app users love on the iPhone appears and works similarly on ELAN touchscreens, valets and handheld remotes as well as users' televisions and mobile devices. And the system's IP backbone makes it just as easy to control the system from across the room - or across the globe.

Individual "apps" for each subsystem allow the user to control security, climate, lighting, media, irrigation, pool/spa, messaging, video and photos with the flick of a finger. Access is fast and secure through any ELAN home interface or globally with mobile Internet enabled devices like the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Netbooks, and PC Tablets. Since the intuitive interface empowers users with personalized scheduling and detailed history views, high consumption subsystems like lighting and climate can be closely monitored and managed for a greener lifestyle - and substantial energy savings.

New Orleans ELAN Installer Takes Brand New Elan g! Dealer Demo System On The Road To Show Consumers The Power Of Home Automation

Jamie Gannon, owner of New Orleans-based Dynamic Audio Video, is the very first dealer to take delivery of the new ELAN g! Dealer Demo System and he’s not wasting any time getting it in front of consumers. In fact, from March 17-20, 2011, he’s showing it at his home automation booth at the 2011 New Orleans Home and Garden Show, the largest consumer home show in the southeast United States.

“The new ELAN g! Dealer Demo System is a great idea, and it’s going to make it easy for me to show the system to potential buyers,” said Gannon. “Since I started Dynamic Audio Video ten years ago, I’ve been waiting for someone to make a system like ELAN g! It’s affordable enough for anyone to install and expand, and the consistent touch-based user interface makes it easy enough for anyone to use. ELAN made the g! demo system especially affordable for dealers, and I expect it to help me sell the ELAN g! system over and over again. Once a customer actually uses it themselves, they won’t want to live without it.”

The ELAN g! Dealer Demo System, which is being officially introduced to dealers and installers at the March 17-20, 2011 EHX expo in Orlando, Florida, includes a system controller, 7” touch screen, 4” touchpad in a tabletop mount, the brand-new HR2 remote, an amplifier, 2 tabletop Sunfire® speakers, a Panasonic IP camera, all the ELAN g! Pro Apps, and 5 viewer licenses to connect iPhones, iPads and computers. The system includes all the parts necessary to connect the gear and make it work. All the dealer needs to add is a television to demonstrate the On-Screen Display (OSD).

Gannon recently finished his first ELAN g! installation in a new home in Old Metairie, just west of New Orleans. “The family had actually contracted someone else to install a Control4 system, but when I showed them the g! app on the iPad, they ditched the old installer and hired me to install the full g! system. If I can do that with just the app, imagine what I’m going to be able to do with the full demo system!”

The ELAN g! Series Home Control System provides users with the most uniform and intuitive icon-based control from their favorite devices, including TVs, touch screens, touch pads, PCs, iPhones, and iPads. The standardized interface works across platforms, so that the trendy g!Mobile app that users love on the iPhone appears and works similarly on ELAN touch screens, valets and handheld remotes as well as users' televisions and mobile devices. And the system's IP backbone makes it just as easy to control the system from across the room as across the globe.

Majority Of Learners At Northcentral University Say School Meets Or Exceeds Their Expectations, Survey Shows

For the third time in seven years Northcentral University has administered the Noel Levitz Priorities Survey for Online Learners (PSOL) to its student body to determine overall levels of satisfaction with their learning experience and, according to the highlights announced today, more than 83% of those surveyed report that their expectations are being met or exceeded by the University.

In fact, according to Dr. Clinton Gardner, President of NCU, the average Northcentral University Learner is far more likely than the average online student to own his or her own home, to be employed full-time and to be married with children. The PSOL reveals that 82% of Northcentral Learners own their own home, 89% are employed in a full-time job, and 47% are married with children. These statistics are much higher than the national averages, for online students, who stand as 53% homeowners, 65% employed full-time and 36% married with children.

“Ours is a community of working professionals who are here to either advance their career or effect a positive career change,” Dr. Gardener said. “They take their studies seriously, and they hold their university to a very high standard. We are very pleased to earn such a high level of Learner satisfaction.

“The administration, faculty, and advisors of Northcentral University are totally dedicated to creating and sustaining a culture of continuous improvement in every area of University life,” Dr. Gardner said. “We rely upon the Noel Levitz PSOL to help us assess our strengths and identify our weaknesses as we move toward our goal of providing Learners with the highest quality of higher education. We are very pleased to see that our commitment to continuous improvement is being recognized by our Learners, but we also understand that much work remains to be done if we are to continue to meet or exceed the expectations of all of our Learners.”

The Noel Levitz Priorities Survey for Online Learners (PSOL) was administered in July 2010 to a sample of 4,580 Northcentral University Learners. The survey received a response rate of 42%, yielding a sample size large enough and the response rate high enough for the University to portray the results as representative of the overall Learner population. The survey was previously administered in 2003 and 2006, enabling both trend and national comparative analysis. Among the strengths the 2010 survey identified are the rigor and breadth of the University’s course offerings, the quality of its online library, the caliber of academic advisors and enrollment specialists, the flexibility of monthly course starts, and the convenience of the registration process. Equally important to the University’s long-term planning process, the levels of satisfaction were consistent across all degree programs.

“From course offerings to resources to advisors the 2010 survey results demonstrate why, when asked, the vast majority of those surveyed said that they would, if given the chance, enroll all over again at Northcentral University,” Dr. Gardner emphasized.

The survey results also paint a portrait of a Northcentral University Learner community that is in many ways different from its peers. The Northcentral community tends to be older (with 34% falling between the ages of 45-54), evenly split between women and men (51%-49% women to men), employed full time (89%), homeowners (82%), married or married with children (71%), and increasingly diverse (62% White, 16% African American, 6% Asian or Pacific Islander, and 4% Hispanic) — and serious about their studies. According to the survey, Northcentral Learners study between 7 and 18 hours per-week.

Over the last year Northcentral University has implemented a number of ambitious initiatives to simplify and improve the educational experience for all of its Learners. Most recently, in January 2011, the University greatly simplified its tuition and fee structure program, moving to all-inclusive model that includes all costs associated with the delivery of a degree program with the exception of textbooks. At the same time, the University has doubled the size of its enrollment and admissions counseling staff to better respond in real-time to prospective and current Learner needs. Simultaneous with the staff expansion, the University implemented an enhanced call routing process that enables Learners to have faster access to the advisors who can answer their questions.

To better meet Learner requests for increased registration flexibility, Northcentral University has also changed course starts from monthly dates to weekly dates. Finally, this year the University will unveil a totally new Learner Portal that will make interaction with faculty a much more intuitive user-friendly experience.

“Ours is a very serious community of working professionals who hold this University to the very highest standards,” Dr. Gardner concluded. “As they should. We are viewed increasingly by working professionals as the preferred way to advance their career. We will continue to innovate every area of our academic and services support programs to continue to earn the respect of our Learners.”

The Priorities Survey for Online Learners (PSOL) was developed by Noel Levitz, an enrollment management consulting firm (www.noellevitz.com) and was first administered in 2001. The survey was designed specifically for the distance learning community. Using a standardized instrument like the PSOL ensures a high degree of validity and reliability and allows for national comparisons with an institution’s peers. As of 2009 the Noel Levitz PSOL had been administered to more than 130 institutions and completed by over 105,000 Learners. For the 2009-2010 academic year, the comparison group for Northcentral University consisted of 84,067 Learners at 97 institutions who administered the PSOL between Fall 2007 and Spring 2010. The survey consists of 73 questions.

About Northcentral University: Since its founding in 1996 Northcentral University has pioneered a distinct approach to online Undergraduate, Graduate, and Post Graduate education that is dedicated to teaching individuals rather than classes. Combining the power of the Internet with an unparalleled faculty mentored approach, Northcentral offers students the flexibility to cost-effectively study on their own schedule using their own individual style while receiving personalized attention from course instructors whenever it is needed. Regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, the for profit, 100% online university currently serves nearly 9,000 students worldwide, offering Bachelor, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees in the Schools of Business and Technology Management, Education, and Behavioral and Health Sciences.

Leading Virginia Law Enforcement Agencies Turn To The Response Network For Their In-Service Online Training

Underscoring the speed with which training conscious, budget strapped law enforcement agencies are turning to its portal for high quality, cost effective, in-service online training, The Response Network today announced that the Virginia Beach, Newport News, and Hampton, Virginia Police Departments have now enrolled their officers at the PoliceCommunity.net  training portal.  Simultaneous with this announcement, The Response Network also debuted a customized online training course specifically designed to meet the needs of all Virginia law enforcement agencies —  “Virginia Legal Updates.”

“Officer training must be constant, and now it is very affordable, consistent from officer to officer, and extremely time and cost-effective,” today said Bradley J. Naples, President & CEO of The Response Network.  “The question is how to best maintain the levels of readiness required in today’s world with increasingly limited training budgets, reduced headcount but with civilian leaders still demanding the same level of police performance.  We believe the only long-term viable solution is to turn to the Internet for in-service training. 

“Over the last three years, The Response Network, through its PoliceCommunity.net training portal, has brought together leading third-party subject matter experts, a growing syllabus of courses, state-of-the-art LMS administrative controls, and law enforcement agencies into a vital and growing training community that is only going to become more important over time.  We welcome the Virginal Beach, Newport News, and Hampton, Virginia Police Departments.”

According to Naples, in response to the customized needs of Virginia Police Departments, The Response Network has created a new course for all Virginia law enforcement agencies, “Virginia Commonwealth Law Enforcement Legal Updates + Changes.” This one course alone pays for any agency’s annual investment in time, accuracy of content to this important subject domain, and budget savings.

Naples emphasized today that more than 10,000 law enforcement officers from agencies in fourteen different states are now enrolled in training courses at the PoliceCommunity.net portal.  “Working in close collaboration with our law enforcement and public safety partners, national and local subject matter experts, state POSTS and training officials, we strive to deliver the best quality self-paced distance learning training all at one low price. For only $74.95 per user per year, a subscriber can access any and all courses regardless of the number of courses available during their year of subscription. Courses will provide assessments and automatic updates to superiors and training directors.” 

The current list of courses offered by The Response Network includes:

•  Use of Force

•  Applied Ethics

•  Sexual and Workplace Harassment

•  Maintaining Mental Health in Law Enforcement

•  Active-Shooter for Public Safety Communications

•  Emotional Intelligence for Law Enforcement

•  Customer Service/ Community Policing

•  U.S. Supreme Court Legal Updates

•  Coming Soon

·      Terrorism Training

·      Cultural Diversity/Bias-Free Policing

·      Officer Survival Techniques

PoliceCommunity.net is owned and operated by The Response Network Inc. The Response Network's mission is to develop and deliver to law enforcement and public safety professionals a complete curriculum of educational courseware that meets their needs for everything from In-Service training to degree granting programs.  For general information, please e-mail pcn@policecommunity.net. Please provide your contact information so we can respond to your inquiry. You may also call us toll free at 1-877-288-0451.

Buffalo Wild Wings Franchisee Uses ELAN g! To Master 62 TVs With The Touch Of A Button

Brett Babick, David and Mike Gianascoli, and Chris Paphites, the partners of Desert Wings, LLC, can turn on, set up and change the channel on all 62 TVs at once at each of their three Southern California Buffalo Wild Wings locations, and all from an iPod touch with the ELAN g! Control System.  With this innovative system, it doesn’t take a whole team of employees to manage and constantly change the channel on 62 TVs, which was precisely the problem they had in a restaurant they previously owned.

“In the old restaurant, we used a system that we thought gave us top-of-the-line video distribution and control,” recalled Babick.  “All the TVs were physically controlled from a central point, where we had to walk over and manually switch to control a specific TV set, then change the channel for just that set.  In an establishment like Buffalo Wild Wings, we can have up to 70 TVs showing almost a dozen different sporting events, so any time a customer asks us to change the channel it was incredibly inconvenient and time consuming to manually identify and adjust each TV.”

So when they decided to open three new Buffalo Wild Wings locations in Southern California, they turned to Craig Curran at Smart Systems Technologies (SST) to design a fluid, simple-to-operate audio/video system, based on the ELAN g! Control System.  With an innovative interface that is uniform across all platforms, including iPhones, iPads, PCs and even retail POS (point-of-sale) terminals, ELAN g! provides users with incredibly simple control over the entire audio/video system, and can even expand to control lighting and monitor surveillance cameras.

“I came into Brett’s previous restaurant and showed him how we could improve the system and make it much simpler to use and manage,” Curran said. “We agreed that embracing new, better technology in the three new locations would be the best thing for him and his customers, and would remove some of the hassle and headaches.”

“As soon as Craig changed the channel from a handheld device he had, I was sold,” said Babick.  “Now, we have select employees who can access the A/V control system through 10 or more POS terminals and the manager can even control the TVs with an iPod touch we bought for each restaurant! Thanks to the POS integration, we can control the system from more than a dozen spots.  We used to literally use hand signals to relay customer requests, and a manager or I would have to leave the floor.  Now with our new system, the instant a customer asks us to change a TV, it’s done.   Some customers have actually said ‘Wow, how did you do that?’ when they saw us use the iPod.  Now there’s no leaving the restaurant floor, no time wasted.”

Thanks in part to the ELAN g! system, Babick believes that they’ve “got the best Buffalo Wild Wings in the country.”  In fact, one of their locations is ranked one of the company’s top 10 franchises.  In addition to seamless, instant control, they set up the ELAN g! Control System to automatically turn on and set the channel on every TV at 10:30 a.m. before they open, and automatically turn off at midnight when they close. 

One of his favorite features is the ability to display personal marketing messages right on the TVs. “Now we can run a ‘ticker’ on the bottom of any TV we want, just like ESPN does. We use it to promote specials and let customers know what games are coming up, and it really adds a sense of professionalism whenever you see that on the screen,” Babick remarked.

Desert Wings’ Buffalo Wild Wings locations have up to 62 TVs, including up to a dozen 11-foot and one 13-foot HD projection screens and up to 49 HD LCD TVs, most of which are 55” LG sets.  He can show 16 different video feeds at once, combining 10 DirecTVÒ receivers and a DVD player as well as internal marketing programming. The ELAN g! Control System also controls the restaurants’ audio systems, which have up to 30 speakers in six discrete zones, allowing customers to listen to music in one section and the big game’s play-by-play in another.

Curran sees the ELAN g! Control System as one of the best new tools for business owners as well as installers.  “The price point and ability to duplicate installations are making media integration and distribution more available for the mass market,” he remarked.  “And it’s the same with automation.  Not having to custom program subsystems and graphical user interfaces makes it much more attractive and infinitely simpler to use.  You can control everything – security, surveillance, lighting, heating and air conditioning, audio/video systems – right from your PC, iPhone or iPod.  Automation has never been easier, or as affordable.”

The ELAN g! Series Home Control System provides users with the most uniform and intuitive icon-based control from their favorite devices, including TVs, touch screens, touch pads, PCs, iPhones, and iPads. The standardized interface works across platforms, so that the trendy g!Mobile app users love on the iPhone appears and works similarly on ELAN touch screens, valets and handheld remotes as well as users' televisions and mobile devices. And the system's IP backbone makes it just as easy to control the system from across the room as across the globe.

G-Wiz Home Control Apps Make Connected Home A Reality For New Generation Of Homebuyers

It used to be that the dream of owning a centrally controlled home — a home where consumers could control audio, video, lighting, security, heating, and more from a single wall mounted touch pad— was a reality reserved for only the highest end multi-million dollar homes. Hard wiring, custom software programming, ongoing maintenance, and system costs all guaranteed that no one but the wealthiest of Americans could even consider the idea.

DiGiacomo's new homes seamlessly blend style and technology.

Now that dream is well within the reach of just about anyone. A whole new generation of IP (Internet Protocol) based wireless home control systems that can be controlled and managed by a variety of touch pads, remote controllers, on-screen displays (like your television) and iPhone and iPad devices are now making their way to market, some as affordable as $5,000 to start, and their availability is starting to forever change the dynamic of home building and home buying — in some cases dramatically.

Rocky DiGiacomo, founder of 20-year-old Minneapolis, Minnesota based DiGiacomo Homes and Renovation, Inc., in many ways represents the leading edge of this new American revolution — he is now pre-wiring every new house he builds for home automation and control.

“I’ve always known that affordable home control would be a dream come true,” said DiGiacomo. “Recent advances in home control technology, coupled with the mass adoption of wireless technology products in popular culture, have taken the dream and turned it into reality. It’s no surprise that someone who uses their iPhone® to program a DVR would love to use their iPhone to control their entire home. With affordable new systems offering a multitude of control functions and media services, there really is a system for everyone. Whether you want to invest $5,000 or $50,000, you can start living in the future, today.”

DiGiacomo’s solution of choice is the ELAN g! Home Control System manufactured and marketed by Carlsbad, California based ELAN Home Systems. Debuted at the start of this year, ELAN g! is perhaps the most modular, and hence affordable home control system currently available. From music distribution and lighting control to advanced energy management and security integration, ELAN g! offers a full range of solutions to fit any lifestyle and any budget. Requiring zero custom programming and coming standard with iPhone, iPad and PC control, home automation is now as easy as checking your email!

Coinciding with the availability of more affordable technology is the fact that the children of the first Internet generation are now entering the national housing market and, as in every aspect of their always-on lives, they expect their homes to be able to respond quickly and fluently to their changing needs.

“I believe that our industry is on the verge of a market upswing of historic proportions,” ELAN Home Systems President Paul Starkey explained. “The first generation of Americans raised from birth on the Internet, smart phones, iPods and iPhones are becoming homebuyers. They are going to demand that the home they buy supports their media and technology passions. This generation of buyers is not going to stand for running their mobile lives from an iPhone only to return home to the dark ages of individual appliance control!

“To me the analogy is clear. Just as yesterday’s homeowner looked for upgraded kitchens and baths when they purchased their home, today’s new homebuyers are going to expect integrated control systems to be a part of the home they purchase. That’s a fact that is going to drive market growth and opportunity for our entire industry — in new home construction, existing home retrofits, and multi-unit apartment and condominium developments.”

Starkey believes that consumers will benefit from a new generation of what he calls ‘affordably innovative’ system solutions that offer consumers specific levels of multi-room and multi-function systems that are clearly differentiated by retail price points. “I believe you will soon see every new home, and indeed many existing homes, offer system solutions that are price appropriate for the price of the home. The higher you go in the home price, the greater its degree of home function integration and control.”

Custom integration dealers are ready for this new era of growth. The Minneapolis dealer who works with Rocky DiGiacomo, Jay Vandermyde of J.J. Vanderson & Co. asserted, “We’re seeing more and more consumers coming into our storefront asking if its possible to control the appliances in their home from their iPhone just as they control their email, texting and business calendars. Now, with systems like Elan g!, we can tell them, yes it is.”