Most people are not old enough to remember when lifelong learners (students) rode horses to attend continuing education classes. Continuing education has come a long way since the early days of correspondence-type learning, and the vision and mission have grown in breadth and depth over these many years. For an in-depth history of CCE and its Division of Public and Community Services, view the film documentary, Mirrors from the Past: Reflection and Directions for the Future; please click the link below:

https://outreach.ou.edu/about-us/history/

Our mission is to provide innovative, meaningful. programming that transforms lives!

Outreach/Continuing Education can be flexible, adaptable, nimble, and proactive educational innovators. We continue to create nontraditional, non-degree, certificate face-to-face or online, full-time, part-time, and hybrid programming to meet the needs of today’s career professionals and lifelong learners seeking personal enrichment, career changes or career advancements.

Our students include career professionals launching new careers or those seeking to upskill, reskill, and build upon current talent stacks to keep pace with the socioeconomic demands of the workforce today.

An example of Outreach’s collaboration and rapid response to needs and skills gaps is demonstrated through a phenomenal partnership with the Fullstack Academy based in New York City. We have collaborated with their team for the past few years to develop non-credit technology boot camps. Some of our current technology boot camps include:

• Web Development - Coding
• Data Analytics
• Developer Operations

The data show that the job market is desperately seeking applicants for each of these programs.

Research shows that there is also a current and ever-widening skills gap between education and the labor market. Our non-credit certificate courses for professional development and continuing education self-paced online courses help meet this growing need – high unemployment rates in various fields in Oklahoma and nationally. There is data to show that there are currently career jobs available and in demand, but a low supply of adequately skilled workers to fill them. (Burning Glass, 2021).

Our offerings include a vast menu of options for career professionals. Graduates receive Certificates of Achievement, Digital Badges, Certificates of Completion, or Certificates of Participation.

Recognizing that we are all lifelong learners, Outreach/Continuing Education also offers courses for those seeking personal enrichment.  A few of our offerings include: Personal Enrichment, Creative Writing of Children’s Books, Writing a Memoir, Remote Learning, Photography, Gardening in Small Spaces, Fitness, Drawing, and so much more! All courses are non-credit, online, self-paced, and instructor led.

Please stay tuned for exciting updates as we proactively move forward to meet the challenges, needs, and skill gaps of communities, organizations, and individuals across the country and beyond in this high-paced ever-changing world!