MEET YOUR PROFESSIONAL GOALS
Continuing education courses allow for customizable experiences
Flexibility and options are two buzzwords that sum up Seneca College’s Faculty of Continuing Education and Training commitment to ensuring that adult learners have access to the types of programs they need to meet their professional goals. And, says one expert, that doesn’t just mean in terms of subject matter but also credentials, delivery and customizable experiences.
“I’ve been at Seneca for 25 years and the Faculty of Continuing Education has always had flexibility with a capital F in mind to make sure we make education available to as many people as possible,” says Melanie Rubens, the academic coordinator of liberal studies and degree activity. “There are so many options and we are continually revisiting them, looking at trends or demand in terms of credentials and different ways to offer programs.”
Seneca’s honours bachelor of interdisciplinary studies program falls under Rubens’ jurisdiction. Designed as an innovative offering that allows those with a two- or three-year diploma to turn it into a degree in less than four years, the program is an example of the various pathways to education that Seneca allots learners, no matter where they are in their educational journey.
“The professional program credits students come into the program with are used as building blocks to the degree,” says Rubens. “So, students will take liberal arts courses to complete their degree credential in two to two-and-a-half years.”
Customization is further emphasized as Seneca allows students to take the program in ways that work with any schedule. Students, says Rubens, can attend the traditional three hours of class a week or opt for a condensed version of the program that sees them in class twice a week. And, she says, the faculty is now looking at presenting even more options.
“We are now offering a number of specialized core courses in a fully online format and there is discussion of streaming some courses live online as well,” she says. “In September, we’re also going to start offering an accelerated weekend version of the courses that would best fit that type of model.”
The honours bachelor of interdisciplinary studies program isn’t the only Seneca program that allows for various completion options. The part-time early childhood education (ECE) program, for example, recently began to offer those with an undergraduate degree or diploma from a post-secondary institution in Ontario or a degree of Canadian equivalency the opportunity to earn an early childhood education diploma in just three semesters.
“We were getting a lot of students asking, ‘If I have a degree or diploma is there a faster way for me to move through the diploma?’ so we are really responding to student needs here,” says Joanne Bonnet, an academic program manager in the Faculty of Continuing Education and Training. “With the province predicting a shortage of early childhood educators, because it has asked those who work in an ECE setting to upgrade their skills to ECE level, many people with an ECE assistant credential are flocking to Seneca to ensure they can keep working.”
The accelerated version of the ECE program doesn’t, however, forgo its standout features. Students, says Bonnet, still receive the practical and relevant experience that is typical of all Seneca offerings. For example, each semester students head out on a field placement where they apply everything they have been learning to the real world.
Sandra Noble is Seneca’s academic chair of community services. She says equally as important to the focus on offering a wide range of credential and completion options is Seneca’s commitment to ensuring that students are always getting the most up to date education.
“Approximately three years ago, the Upper Law Society of Canada, which licenses paralegals in Ontario, released new guidelines. As part of that process, we had to ensure our program covers those competencies,” she says, using the school’s paralegal certificate program as an example. “Staying up to date is extremely important to the college as there are also other areas such as nursing that have guidelines and accrediting bodies that we partner with. It is a high priority.”
Students of programs such as the paralegal offering, which require further examination to practice, may also have the opportunity for additional preparation at no extra cost. Karen Skeaff, another academic program manager in Seneca’s Faculty of Continuing Education and Training, says the college is excited about being able to support students in this manner.
“When they get to their final module, paralegal students, for example, are eligible to attend a two-day licensing prep exam course,” she says. “Such a course, while it prepares students strategically, tends to be quite expensive. Being able to offer the opportunity to our learners is part of the effort Seneca puts into being student-oriented.”
To learn more about Seneca’s wide range of programs, credentials and delivery options, visit senecacollege.ca/ce.