What
is Continuing
Education? How does it relate to SBCC?
Who
takes Continuing
Education classes?
What
classes can I
take for career development or professional credit?
How
do I qualify to
enroll in classes?
When
do Continuing
Education classes begin?
Where
can I get a
Schedule of Classes?
How
do I register
for classes?
Where
are classes
held?
When
do classes meet?
What
if I can't attend
every week?
How
much will it
cost me to enroll?
If
individual students
don't pay for Continuing Education classes, who does?
Who
decides which
classes will be State-funded?
What
areas are not
State-funded?
Why
doesn't Continuing
Ed just charge small fee to augment state funding?
How
can I help ensure
the quality of Continuing Education classes?
How
are instructors
selected?
How
does Continuing
Education choose which classes to offer?
I
have a suggestion
for a new class. Where should I send it?
What is
Continuing Education?
How does it relate to Santa
Barbara City College?
The Continuing Education program, founded in 1918,
has been a division
of Santa Barbara City College since 1958. Through its Continuing
Education
program, SBCC provides continuing education to adults living within its
District, according to California's Master Plan for Higher
Education.
All Continuing Education courses, instructors,
staffing, facilities
and policies are approved by the SBCC Board of Trustees under the
auspices
of the California Community College system. Funding comes from the
State
of California through the California state legislature.
Continuing Education headquarters is located at
the Alice F. Schott
Center, 310 W. Padre St., Santa Barbara, CA 93105 (Phone: [805]
687-0812).
The Goleta area is served by the Selmer O. Wake Center, 300 N. Turnpike
Rd., Santa Barbara, CA 93111 (Phone: [805] 964-6853).
Back to the
questions
Who takes
Continuing Education
classes?
Approximately one in every three local adults
participates
in at least one Continuing Education experience annually. The mix of
students
is enriching. Young parents join octogenarians; retired teachers study
with young executives; students seeking a high school diploma are
side-by-side
with others who are learning English as a second language.
Back to the
questions
What
classes can I take for
career development or professional credit?
Each term, we offer classes for career
development and professional
training. They include:
Classes offering authorized
professional relicensing credits
for:
Health care professionals (RNs, LVNs, and
CNAs)
Mental health professionals (LCSWs and MFTs)
EMT Refresher Training
(A two-year, eight-module series)
A Personal Care Attendant Program
Administration and management, such as:
Bookkeeping and accounting;
marketing;
and communication styles
Business development
Career exploration techniques
Computer training
Job training for a variety of specific
careers such as:
Notary Public Training, filmmaking
& video, gardening, home
construction, woodworking & carpentry
Santa Barbara's only Adult High School
and GED preparation program
Offering a High School Diploma Program,
GED Preparation classes
and twice monthly GED testing
An Adult Literacy and Skills Development Program
including:
A Learning Center in Room 16 at the
Schott Center
Individualized instruction for those seeking a HS Diploma or preparing
for the GED
Citizenship preparation
Offering assistance to those preparing
to take the written
and oral portions of the INS Citizenship Test
English as a second language
Offering classes from Beginning
Literacy
to Advanced ESL throughout the greater
Santa Barbara area
Spanish for the Workplace
Back to the questions
How do I
qualify to enroll
in classes?
Anyone age 18 or over not attending a secondary
school (or anyone under
18 with a high school diploma) is eligible to enroll. Our students are
divided into roughly three groups: ages 18 to 34, 35 to 54, and 55 and
above.
Most classes are open to adults without any prior
preparation. Only
a few sequential classes (mostly in computers, languages, music and
English
as a Second Language) have prerequisites -- see the Schedule of Classes
for details.
Back to the
questions
When do
Continuing Education
classes begin?
We offer classes in three 10-week terms a year, as
follows:
- Fall (September through November)
- Winter (January through March)
- Spring (April through June)
An 8-week summer session of up to 250 classes begins in
June.
Back to the
questions
Where can
I get a Schedule
of Classes?
The current Schedule of Classes is posted online. Printed
versions are also available for free at the Schott and Wake Centers and
various locations around town such as libraries, selected cafés
& restaurants, markets and retail stores. Schedules for Fall,
Winter and Spring terms are distributed with the Santa Barbara
News-Press about 2 weeks before the new term starts (dates vary).
Back to the
questions
How do I
register for classes?
Just go to the first meeting of each class you
want and register at
the door -- unless the course description gives you other directions.
Pre-registration
is available and suggested only for the most popular classes and
lectures,
as described in the Schedule of Classes.
To register, you'll need to fill out a
registration form and pay any
mandatory enrollment fees. If you elect to pay any optional fees, you
must
do so when you register.
Back to the
questions
Where are
classes held?
Classes are offered in up to 90 locations each
term from Carpinteria
through Ellwood, with the majority at the Schott Center, the Wake
Center,
Santa Barbara High School, and Santa Barbara City College. The site of
each class is listed in the Schedule.
Back to the
questions
When do
classes meet?
Most classes meet once a week, in either the
morning, afternoon or evening.
From 80 to 120 one-day workshops are also offered each term. Short
courses
are also available.
Back to the
questions
What if
I can't attend every
week?
We recognize that adults have many other important
commitments, some
of which inevitably conflict with a class. If you need to miss a class
meeting or a lecture, we will understand. In many classes, you may
enroll
at any time during the term if space permits.
Back to the
questions
How much
will it cost me to
enroll?
Most of our classes are free -- you can enroll
without charge. Some
do have optional fees that cover optional services or materials. You
can
enroll in these without paying optional fees, but you won't be eligible
to use the materials or services the fees would have covered.
Approximately
15% of our classes have mandatory enrollment fees. (All class
fees,
optional or mandatory, are noted in the Schedule of Classes.)
Back to the
questions
If
individual students don't
pay for Continuing Education classes, who does?
More than 85% of Continuing Education classes are
funded by the State,
based on the total number of hours of student attendance each year.
Supplementary
private funding is provided through donations to the Adult Ed Fund of
the
Foundation for Santa Barbara City College and individual
bequests.
Back to the
questions
Who
decides which classes
will be State-funded?
The state legislature has authorized Continuing
Education funding for
nine categories of instruction: parenting, elementary and secondary
basic
skills, English as a Second Language, citizenship for immigrants,
short-term
vocational education, education programs in home economics, education
programs
for older adults, health and safety education, and education programs
for
the substantially handicapped.
Classes in arts, crafts and photography, personal
finance, music, performing
arts, English, literature, writing and psychology and Omega program
designated
classes in fitness are funded as education programs for older
adults.
Back to the
questions
What
areas aren't State-funded?
The main areas not funded by the state
are: current events and
world affairs, environmental education, genealogy, languages,
humanities
and religion, physical fitness, dance and recreation, and science.
Whenever
possible, the District seeks alternative sources of private funding for
these areas as a service to the community.
Back to the
questions
Why
doesn't Continuing Education
just
charge small fees to augment
state funding?
The state does not permit us to collect additional
fees for state-supported
classes. (In fact, if we did, we would make ourselves ineligible for
any
state funding for the classes involved.) It's an either/or
situation.
Back to the
questions
How can
I help ensure the
quality of Continuing Education classes?
Your contributions to the Adult Ed Fund sponsored
by the Foundation
for Santa Barbara City College will be channeled back into the
Continuing
Education program. For further information contact the Foundation for
SBCC,
721 Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93109 (Phone: [805] 965-0581, ext.
2601).
Back to the
questions
How are
instructors selected?
Our 400-plus instructors have met educational
and/or experiential qualifications
established by the California Community College system. Most have at
least
a Bachelor's degree plus work experience in their chosen field. Many --
particularly those in English, health, parent education and psychology
-- have advanced degrees and/or professional training.
Back to the
questions
How does
Continuing Education
choose which classes to offer?
We receive requests from students, course
proposals from instructors
and suggestions from the community, including on-going guidance from
the
40-member Continuing Education Advisory Council.
Back to the
questions
I have a
suggestion for a
new class. Where should I send it?
Please mail, fax, or e-mail your suggestion to the
Office of the Vice President, as follows:
Mail: 310 W. Padre St., Santa Barbara, CA 93105
Fax: (805) 569-5457
E-mail: Partee@sbcc.edu
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