Audience: Level 1 Volunteers. White Oak is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides equine-assisted therapy to children and adults in the community. The organization operates a year-round facility and offers an array of equine-assisted therapies on its 18-acre farm. White Oaks' equine-assisted therapy promotes the physical, emotional, and psychological health of individuals with special needs.

White Oaks is a member of PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) International. The facility adheres to PATH's rigorous standards to ensure the health and safety of participants, horses, volunteers, and staff. White Oaks implements a leveled and color-coded volunteer structure in its Equine Assisted Programs, which volunteers must progress through regardless of prior knowledge, experience, or training. This structured progression forms the basis for this course.

Business Problem: White Oaks aims to reduce the time credentialed staff spend training Level 2 and Level 3 barn volunteers by 20-30%, resulting in 20-30% more time spent working directly with clients. Full-time credentialed staff currently spend too much time training Level 2 and Level 3 barn volunteers, or performing duties typically allocated to volunteers, which limits their ability to maximize time with clients.

Solution: White Oaks needs to implement e-learning designed to reduce the time credentialed staff spend onboarding and training Level 2 and Level 3 barn volunteers. The new e-learning series should front-load Level 2 and Level 3 barn volunteers' knowledge and skills independently. By the time credentialed staff begin working with the barn volunteers, the volunteers will have completed all e-learning modules with at least an 80% pass rate (Kirkpatrick Level 2 assessment) and will have completed a minimum of three hours of observation with proficient team members. Once these changes are fully implemented, certified staff will only need to conduct a Level 3 assessment (observation of the volunteers' skills on the job), reducing the time spent on this aspect of their job by 20-30% and freeing them to spend more time in therapy sessions with clients.

Due to the high churn rate of volunteers and the length of time required to bring volunteers to proficiency, credentialed staff are currently spending 50% or more of their time training Level 2 and Level 3 barn volunteers on how to safely groom and tack horses for use in therapy sessions.