April 7, 2010—Global voluntary standards development organization ASTM International recently announced that one of its most popular educational offerings, the E1527 Environmental Site Assessment Course, will soon be offered online for the first time. The new course is the result of an eLearning joint venture between ASTM and Environmental Data Resources Inc. (EDR), provider of environmental risk information services and related workflow applications.
For years, ASTM has offered many popular and authoritative in-person training courses matching a number of its published standards. The E1527 in-person course has been taught at many locations around the country since 1993 when the Environmental Site Assessment standard was first published. With each update of the E1527 standard, there have been changes, both subtle and far-reaching, that trigger a need for a deeper understanding of the language and intent of the standard, notes ASTM. The group also welcomes the chance to reach a broader audience.
Under the terms of the partnership, EDR will coordinate, host and co-promote the course on its successful environmental eLearning platform, while ASTM instructors will develop the content and facilitate the course. EDR’s Commonground University reportedly provides a highly interactive experience that incorporates “blended learning,” combining self-paced coursework with periodic live Web conferences. The online E1527 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment course is expected to be available by late summer 2010.
