About the Center 
The KeyBank Professional Development Center is a joint venture between the South Puget Sound community and the University of Washington, Tacoma to extend the resources of the University to the community. The Center works with educational providers to offer a broad array of continuing education opportunities for public and private sector professionals and organizations in a range of disciplines. The Center offers advanced non-degree education through specialized courses, seminars, workshops, conferences and services.
The Center is made possible at UW Tacoma by a generous gift from KeyBank and from the Dimmer Family Foundation.
> About the Director
> Office Staff
> Teaching Opportunities (Word Document; 32 K)
> Guidelines
> Definitions
> Certificate Programs
> Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
> Principles of Good Practice
> Program Proposal Form (Word document; 92K)
GUIDELINES
Principles of Good Practice
The KeyBank Professional Development Center will operate under the guidance of the University Continuing Education Association's (UCEA) Principles of Good Practice. These principles were established "to guide the practice of continuing higher education."
Mission
The mission of the KeyBank Professional Development Center is to expand access to the resources of the University of Washington Tacoma by offering advanced, non-degree education to individuals and organizations in the South Puget Sound region. As a self-sustaining unit, the Center will offer an array of seminars, workshops and courses to enhance the knowledge and skills of community members.
Policies and Procedures
The Center is the main portal of entry at UW Tacoma for requests that are not serviceable by current academic units. The Center will also become the main portal of entry for non-credit and self sustaining activities. With this in mind it is important to emphasize that:
- All self sustaining credit courses offered through the Center will be approved by the academic program.
- Faculty and programs at UW Tacoma will be considered as primary providers for the Center’s programs.
- Faculty may work directly with the Center to develop new programs/courses.
- Third party partnerships will be part of the program mix of offerings, i.e., with outside providers.
- A variety of program activities will be offered.
Processes and Communication
Roles and responsibilities
Academic programs will engage in identifying market demands and needs and refer interested parties to the Center for follow up. All programs will undergo review by the appropriate academic program. Academic programs will be responsible for content, curriculum, approval processes of the university (for credit), and recommending faculty. For those offerings with no academic home (e.g., criminal justice, paralegal) content and curriculum will be developed by the instructor and/or association providing the training, and approval will be housed with the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs.
The Center will also be involved in identifying market demands and needs and bring these to the attention of the academic programs. The Center will be responsible for the program's operation and administration including logistics, student services and registration, marketing and promotion, and fiscal arrangements. Students will be registered for non-credit activities on a stand-alone continuing education registration system maintained by the Center. All credit bearing activity will be handled through the UW Tacoma Registrar's Office.
Environmental Scanning/Needs Assessment
It is vital to the success of the Center that programs to be offered generate sufficient interest to off-set development and production efforts. Program selection will rely heavily on demonstrated evidence for need within the South Sound Community. Programs offered through the Center must be able to demonstrate that providing the program will benefit the UW Tacoma community. Ideally, a participant base would already have been established, e.g., professional development for teachers.
Programs for which no demonstrated need can be articulated and verified would be carefully scrutinized and needs assessment conducted prior to acceptance. The rationale for offering any program must be clear and meaningful.
In addition, the Center will work with programs and associations to conduct environmental scanning and needs assessment.
New Program Proposals
Each activity in which the Center engages and expends resources will be documented through the submission of a New Program Proposal form (Word document; 92K). A principal of the activity (director, faculty, educational director, staff training personnel, etc.) would fill out the form and attach supporting information as requested. The form, with supporting information, will be sent to the director of the Center for initial review.
All credit proposals will be reviewed and approved by the appropriate credit program. In instances where there is no academic 'home' within UW Tacoma, review and approval would be housed in the office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
Non-credit/CEU proposals will be submitted for review by the appropriate academic program, when appropriate. The Center may offer non-credit/CEU activities beyond the scope of the academic programs with the review of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
CEU (continuing education unit) activities will be offered following the guidelines established by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). The review for CEUs will be the same as for non-credit.
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DEFINITIONS
Certificate Programs
A certificate program is a linked series of credit or non-credit courses that constitutes a coherent body of study in a discipline. It is generally designed for college-level or post-baccalaureate participants.
CEU (Continuing Education Unit)
One CEU = 10 contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education experience under responsible providership, capable direction, and qualified instruction.
Conferences
Conferences may be co-sponsored activities or offered through UW Tacoma utilizing the Center for conference set up, tracking, monitoring, etc. The Center would charge a fee for services and hire a contract coordinator for the specific project. Unless done for PR purposes, these activities should be entirely self-sustaining.
Degree Programs
Degree programs offered for credit in a format more accessible for the target audience (e.g., weekend intensive format). These programs would be self-sustaining, i.e., receiving no state funding and generate revenue to "break even" at a minimum.
Stand Alone Activities
Courses: Credit course that is offered in a self-sustaining format often in an intensive, alternative time frame.
Workshops: Short courses (often one-half to one day in length) on a narrowly defined topic; non-credit and self-sustaining.
Seminars: Medium length courses (generally 2 days to several weeks) covering a fairly narrow topic; non-credit and self-sustaining.
Special Projects
Examples could include Elderhostel, children's programs, Senior College. Projects that carry no academic credit and generally are provided to enhance the connection of the university to the community. Should be self-sustaining.
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CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS
Policies Governing Certificate Programs
Definition
A certificate program is a linked series of credit or non-credit courses that constitutes a coherent body of study in a discipline. It is generally designed for college-level or post-baccalaureate participants.
Non-Credit/CEU Certificate Programs
All certificates that are offered for zero-credit or for continuing education units will be housed in the Center.
Proposals submitted for Non-Credit/CEU Certificates will follow the same guidelines outlined in the document "KeyBank Professional Development Center, Continuing Education Units (CEUs)."
Zero credit activities are not appropriate for documentation of certificates as there is no true measure of participation and performance in zero credit activities.
CEU activities are acceptable and appropriate for documentation of certificates and are accepted by several professional associations for continuing education credentialing.
CEUs are an acceptable measure of participation and performance for many professional groups including education, social work, banking, security/corrections, etc.
Some associations, e.g., National Association of Social Workers, may, for a fee, certify CEU activities. Association certified CEUs are generally more desirable by professionals because the individual does not have to seek approval on a case-by-case basis for professional development participation. The Center will, where feasible, seek association certification for continuing education for those associations where it is desirable and/or required.
CEUs may be granted in lieu of credit for an activity that an academic program may not, for any reason, want to offer for UW Tacoma credit.
Third party partnerships will be sought out for CEU bearing certificates. The Center will actively pursue third party partnerships and bring them to the appropriate academic director for review. The academic director may wish faculty to also review the programs prior to the Center offering.
CEU certificates may be proposed by faculty, by academic directors, or by parties outside the academy, e.g., staff, professionals in the community, other continuing education units, etc. These proposals will undergo already established guidelines for review of CEU offerings at UW Tacoma.
Credit Certificate Programs
Credit certificates may be housed in the academic department and/or in the Center. Administration and location for each credit certificate will be handled on a case-by-case basis. The academic program will, in most cases, be the deciding player in where the certificate will be housed.
Credit certificate programs will be generated by the academic programs except in the case where no academic program is housed within UW Tacoma. Any potential activities for which there is not a corresponding academic program will be reviewed by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
Credit certificate programs may be initially housed in the Center and upon maturity be moved to the academic program as a minor or major, depending upon the academic program’s desires. As transition occurs from certificate to minor/major status, it may be advisable to continue to offer the program as a certificate through the Center. Discussion between the Center director, the academic director, and the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs would ensure that an appropriate decision would be made regarding transition of programs.
Certificate programs currently housed in academic programs may be transitioned to the Center, if this transition is deemed appropriate and beneficial to the Center, to the academic program, and to the participants/students in the program. Again, significant discussion between the Center director, the academic director, and the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs would ensue prior to any transition taking place.
Credit certificate programs may, as determined by the Center director, the academic director, and the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, transition from credit status to CEU status. Careful review of the participants/students in the credit courses would reveal whether this would be an appropriate change of status for the program.
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Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
Policies Governing CEUs
International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) criteria will be used to determine if requested courses/programs are eligible for Continuing Education Units (CEUs). For detailed information on IACET criteria please see their Web site www.iacet.org.
The Center will review and recommend courses/programs requested for CEU eligibility to the appropriate academic program for review and comment. Content areas for which there is no academic program will be reviewed by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
The Center requests that the academic program provide written response in the event that a proposal may be denied. In some cases the Center may work with the requester to resubmit the proposal for second review.
The Center will provide materials and information for individuals, faculty, and programs interested in requesting CEUs for their activities.
Procedure to Request CEUs
Requester will submit the Program Development Proposal form and supporting materials to the Center for review.
Submitted materials will be reviewed and recommended for approval by the Center to the academic program or the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
Requester will be notified of the outcome of the review:
- if approved, the Center will establish a permanent Course/Program Register
- if not approved, the Center may work with the requester to resubmit the proposal so that it addresses the concerns of the academic program; proposals may then be submitted for second review
Course/Program Register
- each course/program will be entered and tracked on the Center’s database for non-credit activities
- registration will be conducted on-site at the activity and may also be available prior to the activity; no registrations will be accepted after the completion of the activity
- a roster will be generated for the session and provided to the presenter
- presenter will submit documentation of participation
- presenter will, upon completion of the activity, submit student status (pass/no pass)
- certificates of completion will be provided by the Center
students may request CEU transcripts from the Center
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PRINCIPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE
Mission:
Continuing Education should have a clear, concise mission statement that succinctly describes its role within the institution and within the community that it serves.
Continuing education should reflect a social awareness and commitment to the broader society served by the institution
Continuing education should encourage and facilitate the participation in its programs of women, minorities, and economically and physically disadvantaged participants.
Program Design and Delivery:
Continuing education should be conducted in an environment suited to the needs, interests, and learning styles of adult learners.
Adult Learners:
Continuing education assumes that adult learners are also mature, motivated, and experienced consumers. Continuing education programs should provide learners with effective means of addressing problems if the program does not meet their expectations.
Continuing education programs should provide learner support services that are appropriate to the delivery system and to the needs of adult learners.
Faculty:
Continuing education extends the academic quality of the university into the community. Faculty who participate in continuing education programs should have academic credentials consistent with the general standards of the institution.
Administration:
Continuing education assumes a close relationship with the client being served, be it an individual learner, an employer, or a social agency. Continuing education programs should use open and consistent systems to ensure effective communication between clients and the continuing education office and also to ensure continuous improvement of services and programs.
An institution offering continuing education activities should support those activities with organizational structures, policies, processes and resources appropriate to the scope and mission of its program. Continuing education policies and procedures should be well defined, clearly communicated, and understood and accepted by the entire institution.
Continuing education programs should be carried out in a manner consistent with the highest standards of ethical practice.
Evaluation:
Continuing education grows from an institutional commitment to individuals throughout their lifetime. Good practice in continuing education requires that the institution actively assess the need for continuing education programs and respond to the assessed need in a manner that is timely and consistent with the institution's overall mission.
Continuing education should evaluate all aspects of a program's design and delivery to ensure that it meets the needs of individual learners and institutional standards.
Advocacy:
Continuing education programs should assume an advocacy role when needed to encourage changes in institutional, state, and federal policies that affect the student's access to programs and ability to continue to completion.
(For more information on the University Continuing Education Association, please see www.ucea.edu.)
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