Corporations or individuals looking to access cutting-edge educational and training opportunities need look no further than the Regional Learning Alliance.

Located at Cranberry Woods, in Cranberry Township, a 76,000-square-foot, technology-based, green building, the RLA takes an innovative approach to meeting the educational, professional and conferencing needs of the region.

The lifelong learning concept, developed by Slippery Rock University, joins 14 educational partners, providing an educational mall. Together alliance partners offer a host of undergraduate, graduate, technical and training programs specifically designed to meet the needs of working professionals.

"The RLA is the most comprehensive learning facility in southwestern Pennsylvania, meeting the development and educational needs of all residents," said Justin Griffith, general manager. The RLA combines more academic partners than any other similar alliance in the nation.

Recently, the RLA created two new programs allowing students the research opportunities that otherwise would only be available at larger institutions.

The Virtual Library, developed with a grant from The Buhl Foundation of Pittsburgh, links students to the library resources of their partner institutions. This provides 12 computer workstations that students use.

The Virtual Library has collaborated with the Cranberry Township Public Library to help students obtain traditional public library cards to use when they seek information in books or electronically via Power Library, the online database suite provided by the state.

In the future, the Virtual Library hopes to sponsor Western Pennsylvania's "Digital Thesis Project," a concept of digitizing theses and other research papers for citation and future reference.

A second program launched this year is the Writing and Research Center. This provides personal assistance in researching, drafting and submitting academic papers for conferences or business review. In conjunction with the Virtual Library, the Writing and Research Center, provides students and clients state of the art research technologies combined with editorial software and the services of a professional writer and rhetorician.

Thanks to support from the Buhl Foundation of Pittsburgh, the RLA is able to provide these services at no charge to students. Corporate clients are able to contract the services of the Writing and Research Center.

The IDEAS, Innovative Deliveries for Educational Alliance Students, initiative is a delivery concept that is the first of its kind in state. RLA students will be able to cross register at any IDEAS educational institution. This venture is a means of sharing resources and information among member institutions.

This month the Regional Learning Alliance will launch KnowledgePoint Academy. Through partnerships, professional programs, technology and networking, KnowledgePoint Academy will provide a forum for lifelong learners to grow in every facet of life. Continued growth is the benchmark of business success, and the RLA can offer tailored programs to today's market.

The RLA will have an open house May 1 from 4 to 7 p.m. or anytime during normal business hours. For information, log on to its Web site at www.therla.com.