Continuing Education

Two years ago, with a morbidly slumping economy and unemployment rates rising to the highest levels in decades, President Obama turned to community colleges as a means of bringing our country back to a state of robust economic health. According to a Washington Post report, Obama told the country that being unemployed is "no longer just a time to look for a new job." Instead, it's time to "prepare yourself for a better job."

To make it easier for displaced workers to get the training they needed to find employment once again, President Obama developed a plan that would allow unemployed workers to continue to receive unemployment benefits, as well as Pell Grants, to head back to school for retraining. Obama said, "I have asked every American to commit to at least one year of higher education. Every American will need more than a high school education."

Community Colleges Put it in Gear

To achieve Obama's end, community colleges across the country started kicking it into high gear, networking with employers in their area to provide job-specific training that would get the people in their communities back to work once again. However, it wasn't long before the economic crunch took its toll on higher education as well, and community colleges were forced to tighten their belts along with the rest of the country. With many budget cuts to grapple with, class sizes grew bigger and waitlists got longer. Still,

It all started when Lane Community College in Oregon decided to offer a non-credit course titled "What is Islam?" The instructor of the course, Barry Sommer, had applied to teach a class in Islam for the community college, which the college accepted. However, before the course had a single sign-up, the college put the brakes on the offering. School officials learned some potentially disturbing facts about Sommer and decided it was best to nip the brewing controversy in the bud.

The Facts

Eugene resident Barry Sommer applied in October of this year to teach a class on Islam at Lane Community College. The school typically offers non-credit courses for interested students throughout the year, many of which are taught by qualified community residents rather than college professors. According to a report at World Net Daily, approval for the course came, and Sommer began preparations for teaching. When the course went online on the college website, Sommer also sent out a press release to alert others to his offering.

Once the details were announced, a local news station asked to interview Sommer. As the course became more public, so did Sommer's background. Sommer may have been involved in organizations that were perceived as anti-Islamic. Once the news spread that Sommer was a potentially controversial figure in the Islamic community, Lane pulled the plug on the course.

This short video offers an overview of Islam.

With over 2.5 million adult students enrolled across the country, according to Eric Digest, nearly one-third of all community college students are over the age of thirty. The variety of options for continuing education in community colleges gives students of any age great opportunities for both technical and personal interest growth.

Adults Seeking Continuing Education Paths

For adults or people curious about special topics, community colleges and continuing education courses allow the open study of various subject matters. As Edgecombe Community College, located in North Carolina, explains, “Continuing Education promotes the lifelong learning process by offering a wide range of programs and services.” The continuing education opportunities are meant to support all adults, regardless of their educational background. Most continuing education and special interest students are individuals who are taking classes for non-traditional reasons: According to Howell, “adult students come to community colleges with a variant set of characteristics. They are more likely to attend part-time, to take courses for self-improvement initially rather than for degree completion, and to enroll intermittently.” Because most continuing education students are already employed in careers or work full time in or outside the home, colleges report that continuing education students bring practical goals and valuable life perspectives to the classroom.

This video offers a rationale for pursuing continuing education.

What Does Continuing Education Offer?

For many adults, continuing education classes are opportunities to explore hobbies or interests