The Dean's Corner

Stone Soup Logo Welcome to the Spring 2006 Edition of Stone Soup.

Continuing Education (CED) as a separate area of responsibility within an educational institution is a difficult entity to define. Across the state and the nation, CED units are multivarious in terms of their responsibilities. Fundamentally, however, they are identified as the "Lifelong Learning" arms of their respective institutions. Where the traditional role of the university is to provide programs leading to formal academic credentials which attract students from anywhere into the door, CED develops educational packages which serve the needs of the community outside of the door.

Regardless of the type of institution, almost all CED units provide some form of :

	- Professional development course work,

	- Non-credit personal interest courses,

	- Business and industry training programs, currently referred to as "workforce development."

Also, CED will often be a unit which develops conferences on topics related to the primary academic disciplines of the university.

At SCCC, our role is slightly enriched as compared to the typical CED unit because we have responsibility for credit programming. Across SUNY and CUNY community colleges, fewer than 6 share this role. Thus, most have no responsibility for credit instruction.

Let's look at our MISSION:

The Continuing Education Division supports the comprehensive mission of Schenectady County Community College through the provision of educational opportunities which demonstrate commitment to learning as a life-long process.

Puzzle Piece To this end, Continuing Education performs the following roles:

	- Provides credit course offerings in collaboration with academic departments during traditional evening, weekends, and summer terms; at extension sites; and by alternative means;

	- Provides non-credit programming for personal enrichment and professional development to targeted populations;

	- Provides workforce development opportunities to meet the needs of businesses, industries, and community agencies; and

	- Provides international trade education and services to upstate New York.

In response to growing demand from SUNY and the Middle States Association for assessment which is based upon measurable outcomes, we in the Continuing Education Division at SCCC are currently undertaking review of our mission and are establishing assessment strategies to be implemented on a systematic schedule into the future. We hope that the data we derive will enable us to improve our offerings and service to better serve the needs and desires of our local community. As we complete our new mission statement and establish our assessment strategies, we will share those with you for informational purposes.

In the meanwhile, enjoy reading this issue of Stone Soup.

Dean Baker

Return to the Stone Soup newsletter