Continuing Education: Something for Everyone

Continuing Education is a wonderful post-secondary option that takes into account the hectic schedules and life responsibilities that may be preventing you from obtaining a diploma, advanced diploma or certificate. That's because this option involves enrollment in post-secondary, credit-granting courses by part-time students, and is often offered through a division or school of continuing education of a college.

One location in Toronto, Ontario that offers Continuing Education is Centennial College. As the province's first community college — established in 1966 and primarily serving the eastern portion of the Greater Toronto Area through four campuses and seven satellite locations — this school has grown to enjoy a sound reputation. As such, its Continuing Education School sees nearly 22,000 learners each year in 160 programs that feature more than 1,200 courses and a 97 per cent learner satisfaction.

Through Centennial College's School of Continuing Education, students have traditional and non-traditional options to obtaining their education. First and foremost, those who function best in a classroom environment with practical application of lessons, classroom discussions, trips and more would benefit from the part-time evening class format. Through this Continuing Education option, students can attend Addiction Studies, Business, Computers and Information Technology, Early Childhood Education, Engineering Technology, Food Service Worker, Media and Design, Part-time Health Studies, Retirement Communities Management/Long Term Care Management, Transportation, and more. The instructors who teach these Continuing Education options are trained to offer flexible, learner-centered teaching methodologies; provide practical hands-on knowledge to place relevant theory into context and perspective; recognize and respect both the level of maturity and work experience of students; and provide effective instructor to student ratio and an optimal classroom size enabling competent peer interaction.

Meanwhile, students who enjoy a classroom feel but may be limited by schedules and responsibilities may be better suited for the Distance Learning format. In this Continuing Education option, students learn in a virtual classroom that is open 24 hours a day and boasts qualified and industry-experienced instructors, communication tools, discussion boards and forums, a sense of email access with classmates, digital assignment capabilities, and more. Lastly, Continuing Education students may partake in print-based courses, which are suited for students who enjoy independent learning and have the ability to work at their own pace within typically a six-month time frame.

In most cases both delivery methods (online and print-based) require that students attend the campus towards the end of their class to write a continuing education final exam.

All Continuing Education programs facilitated through the Continuing Education School have their own prerequisites and it's best to check each individual program's page to ensure that students have the necessary requirements to apply. It should also be noted that within certain programs there might be qualification requirements and costs for external accreditations, designations, certifications or recognitions. These are set by the granting bodies and not by Centennial College or its School of Continuing Education. In order to qualify for any of those external accreditations, designations, certification or recognition, students and graduates will need to follow the processes and meet the applicable requirements listed on the websites and materials of those external bodies.