This final session of the 2022-23 Professional Development Webinar Series will bring together leaders of continuing education units to share insights about the evolving role of continuing education. In this discussion, the panelists will outline the context within which their continuing education units operate, and will discuss overarching concepts that frame their work. These concepts include the relationship between continuing education and lifelong learning, the needs of the contemporary continuing education student, and our value proposition as units that are assets to our institutions, provincial governments, and industry. As the discussion unfolds, the panelists will share examples of changing or new roles that their units are assuming, and the potential of the continuing education unit as the innovator or incubator within the institution.
Overall, this session will provide insight into the current state of continuing education and critical considerations regarding how our continuing education units can achieve their maximum potential as units central to the future of higher education. This discussion of the evolving role of continuing education and the merits of the relative niches our units occupy will help us embrace the diversity of our collective function. This is a necessary step towards building a resilient, adaptive, and robust lifelong learning ecosystem.
This session will serve as a segue to the 2023 CAUCE annual conference, as the conversation will probe central ideas underpinning this year’s theme.
Presenters:
- Michelle Fach, Executive Director, Open Learning and Educational Support, University of Guelph
- Rod Lastra, Acting Dean, Extended Education, University of Manitoba
- Christie Schultz, Dean, Centre for Continuing Education, University of Regina
Moderator:
- Kari Kumar, Associate Dean (Academic), Extended Education, University of Manitoba