Back in the day, the continuing education department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga focused on a hodgepodge of hobbies. In any given semester the list of class offerings might include anything from floral arranging to five-string banjo instruction.
“Continuing ed” classes, as they were called, were a way to build community support – more people on campus meant more potential patrons for higher ed – and to maximize the use of campus facilities.
Center for Professional Education Goals
* Increase the number of participants in professional and career development* Assess program impact and participant benefit* Increase the number of programs offered* Incorporate new technologies* Use advisory and focus groups to shape programs
Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 4/13/17. John Freeze is the director for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s new Center for Professional Education which was formerly known as the Continuing Education program.
Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 4/13/17. Jeff Grant, Julie Farrow, John freeze, Laura Lee and Lisa Price, from left, represent the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s new Center for Professional Education which was formerly known as the Continuing Education program.Well, set aside the banjo and leave the flowers in the garden. Today’s emphasis on lifetime learning at UTC is much more focused on supporting mid-career, white-collar workers and their pursuit of professional development training and task-specific certifications such as “project management.”
The Continuing Education department at UTC is even shedding its name for the more expansive moniker: the Center for Professional Education. The unit will also soon be moving from its prosaic digs at aging Pfeiffer Hall on the UTC campus to the gleaming James R. Mapp Building a couple of blocks away.