Promoting Non-Credit Lifelong Learning

Become an A+ Mom

Have you ever wanted to take a class just for the fun of it? Perhaps you want to learn more about a particular subject, but don't necessarily want to go through a whole credit, degree, or certificate program. Here's where non-credit courses come into play.

There are lots of schools that offer non-credit courses that generally fall under their continuing education or general studies programs. Most of these non-credit courses do not cost anything and are available to students not enrolled in a degree program. They allow for flexibility and generally offer non-credit courses during nights and weekends for those with full-time schedules. Of course, different schools have different requirements (some require an application process) so doing your homework is certainly paramount. Below you'll find examples of schools that offer lifelong learning through non-credit courses.

Get an Ivy League Education for Free
The University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pa.) - The College of General Studies offers lifelong learning courses in subjects like cooking, art history, wine appreciation, writing, gardening, and interior design.

Yale University (New Haven, Conn.) - Open Yale Courses provides non-credit courses to students interested in learning for fun. Get to know the info you've always wondered about in religious studies, physics, English, and other areas of expertise.

Columbia University (New York, N.Y.) - Take a variety of out-of-the-ordinary language classes through Columbia's Postbaccalaureate Studies program. Here you'll find such languages as Bengali, Vietnamese, Swahili, Yiddish, Punjabi, and others.

Technological Advancements
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Boston, Mass.) - MIT's OpenCourseWare doesn't give you access to faculty or credits, but gives you course materials and the option to check out what students of MIT actually learn. This non-credit option gives individuals the option to learn a college course on their own and perhaps decide if this is the right degree path for them.

New York Institute of Technology (Old Westbury, N.Y.) - Through NYIT's Extended Education program, students can take non-credit courses in classes that reflect the strengths of this technology institute. Such courses include architecture, computer graphics, corporate training, and more.

Local Schools Provide Great Classes, Too!
Middlesex Community College (Bedford, Mass.) - Middlesex stresses the importance of offering some of their many classes to those who want to advance their career or skills and to those who just want to learn something new. There are a variety of classes here that will help students enrich their education.

Florida Keys Community College (Key West, Fla.) - Through a partnership with Desire2Learn, the Continuing Education and Distance Learning department of FKCC has a variety of six-week online non-credit courses available to those interested in this type of learning. Web page design, accounting, and digital photography are just some of the non-credit courses available.

by Amanda Fornecker

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