Continuing Education and the Community College.

Overview & Synopsis

In an effort to re-examine the principles and rationale of community and adult education, this monograph first addresses the quandary of adult education--society's commitment to schooling for the young while paying little more than lip service to meeting the educational needs of the whole population. Continuing education staff are encouraged to assume an active role in the promotion of adult education through fresh, innovative approaches to serving the needs and desires of a specific community, while facing problems of overlapping services, underutilization of resources, and poor managerial and organizational practices. Specific steps are outlined to streamline and enlarge adult education programs, including adapting management by objectives techniques to continuing education and developing in-service programs for continuing education faculty. The continuing education curriculum, which might include community leadership development, community outreach, women's programs, marketing and management seminars, and health care, is considered in relation to identifying and recruiting new students. Finally, the role of continuing education in an increasingly complex world is underscored, and a futuristic model, centered on the Knowledge Module, is presented. (AYC)