Cohort FAQ

General

Why join an ELGL learning cohort?

Cohort learning models provide benefits such as:

  • Social and collaborative opportunities through virtual and in-person meetings with other professionals that have a love for local government!
  • Long-term connection of cohorts through dedicated channels
  • Cross-training and cross-sharing opportunities among cohorts
  • Mentor identification and training for future cohorts
  • Networking among regional and national cities and departments
  • Creation of best practices, shared lessons, and educational materials
  • Most importantly, we send you swag 🙂

How often do you have new cohorts?

ELGL runs cohorts on a quarterly basis, so there’s always something new on the horizon!

Here are 2021’s key dates. Please note that the exact dates of each cohort will vary—please check the individual cohort descriptions. Additionally, there may be instances where we need to cap registration or, alternately, keep applications open past the stated closing date.

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Cohorts Announced and Applications Open February 15 May 17 August 9
Registration/Applications Close March 22 June 14 September 13
Level Up/Deep Dive participants notified of acceptance March 26 June 18 September 17
Cohorts Begin (see individual listings for exact dates) On or after the week of April 12 On or after the week of July 12 On or after the week of September 27

 

What’s the difference between a Cohort Sprint, Level Up, and Deep Dive?

Cohort Sprints are short, six-week programs designed to give participants a chance to explore a new topic or skill, meet others interested in similar issues, and learn from and collaborate with one another. Level Up (3 month) and Deep Dive (6 month) cohorts are project-based and feature biweekly collaboration and training sessions.

What’s the time commitment for a cohort?

In general, you should anticipate spending 1-3 hours per week on your cohort.

Curriculum typically includes weekly readings and discussion board posts, and may also have additional content to watch, listen to, or complete.Level-Up and Deep Dive cohorts will typically have biweekly live sessions for participants to attend.

Will I get a lot of homework and assignments?

Our goal when setting up these cohorts is to always make sure that the work loads are feasible for those who are working full time. Often homework consists of discussion board posts and self-guided reading or activities. If you are in a Level Up or Deep Dive cohort you may assignments to work on related to your project. We encourage you to work at your own pace!

I’m not sure if I’m a member, or I might need to renew my membership.

Check your membership by visiting https://www.joinit.org/o/elgl/members and entering your email address. Remember to check any prior email addresses you may have used. Need to update your email address? Email membership@elgl.org with your name, old email address, and new email address and we’ll get it taken care of.

Pricing and Payment

What do cohorts cost?

Cohort Sprints typically cost $25 for ELGL members or $75 for non-members, but the pricing may vary slightly cohort-to-cohort.

Level Up (3-month) Cohorts cost $1500, and all participants receive an automatic scholarship of $750 from the cohort’s sponsor. Additional scholarships are available to ELGL members based on need. The cost for Deep Dives varies—details will be provided when these cohorts are announced.

Cohort fees stay with ELGL and support the development and administration of learning experiences. We are pleased to offer free webinars as a no-cost way to learn with ELGL.

ELGL never wants cost to be an obstacle to participation in our cohorts. If the only thing standing between you and participating in a learning opportunity is the price, please let us know and we’ll be happy to work with you.

Are scholarships available for cohorts?

Scholarships are available to ELGL members for Level Up and Deep Dive cohorts based on need. You can request consideration for scholarships during the application process.

Does ELGL offer discounts to organizations with multiple attendees?

ELGL offers discounts to organizations with three or more people attending the same Level Up cohort. The discounted cost for Level Up cohorts is $500 per attendee.

Deep Dive pricing and discounts vary and will be provided when the cohort is announced.

Does ELGL offer payment plans?

We can offer payment plans for Level Up and Deep Dive cohorts to individuals on a case-by-case basis. Please reach out to cohorts@elgl.org to let us know what would work best for you.

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