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The.rollowing.excerpts are from an information ‘m bulletin'"At‘Guelph?vpublis— hed by the University of Guelph Information Office. Considering all the disscu ssions with our Commitee on Aims and Objectives about

'the university and the community; I thought it might be interesting for those of us interested in this area.

The 1972 "Aims and Object- ives of the University of Guelph" repOrt expressed: this commitment to non—cred- it programs as follows: "... education in the future will be.a pursuitfor a lifetime.~ The University of Guelph will explore how it can accommodate its program to‘ include the educational ne- eds and aspiratiOns of all age groups."

Provincially we see a” similar diversion of recou— rces to the non—credit,sec- tor. The Report of the Comm- ission on Post Secondary Education in Ontario (1972) stresses the concept of education'throughout life and recommends greater aCC- essibility to all institut- ions of higher learning. Further, it recommends ref— resher courses in all prof— _ essional areas and opportun— ities for training programs and part—time study.

That the non-credit progr- ams have been meeting commu- nity needs is evidenced in. the enthusiastic response_ ‘to‘each semester’s schedule.. It's no happy coincidence that Continuing Education offers courses people want. Professor waldron and his staff keep alert to changing political, cultural and eco— nomic trends. They field 1 courses to complement Guelph Spring Festival offerings, to explain current political trends and to keep consumers abreast of the plethora of g Shiny new developments which Crowd the shelves. suggest- ions for course topics can Come from almost anywhere: faculty, advisory commitees within the University, Guelph Citizens, and cemmunity groups. The Office gees so far as to solicit suggestions from“everyone who enrolls

V.

=#4

in a course, and through

.advertisements in the local

press. In order to keep non-cre—

‘dit courses“accessible to

Vas many people as possible,

"tuition fees are held to a

minimum. The fees, however, must cover all the direct costs offinon-credit programs including advertising, hono— raria, classroom materials 'and audio visual services. The provincial government supports non-credit education in principle, but does_not provide funding. Because some programs at Guelph are directly related to activi- ties of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, av portion of the operating

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.7 «aw-H A,»

life-long I Process-Not J

a part of the [University's non-credit offeringsL Corr— espondence coursesnwshort courses and conferences also. fall within the jurisdiction of the Office of Continuing Education. '

Continuing education plays an important role in profe- ssional development in a society characterized by galloping technological ch— ange. Professional develop- ment sessions are usually organized in a concehtrated format, of a day to a month duration. Annually about 50 of theSe short courses are held on campus, usually during spring semester when

“Smaller undergraduate enrol-

ment frees campus residence accommodation for use by

the paricipants. Specific programs have been offered off campus and in other cities. The majority of short courses have become regular annual affairs and invariably

*Practicum. course on Dr. Stott’s method _of teanbrhg children with learning disabilities:

Credit: AT GUELPH THE 'UNIVERSI TY REPORTS

costs are recoverable from OMAF through a contract arrangement. . Non-credit courSes present

educational opportunities

to Guelph and area residents' and in another perspective {provide stimulating teaching experiences for the faculty _involved. They can adoptva 7 more relaxed format,straying from course material as class

. makeup or interests indicate.

Many are able to pursue side uintereSts which don't as

yet have a niche in the sta- ndard university curriculum. In general, non—credit cour- ses call for a less theoret- ical approach and tend to focus'on specific problems. Semester courses are only

attract more than capacity enrolment. Predictably, the University offers courses in areas of special expert: ise, such as cheese manufac- ture, turf management, and agribusiness marketing man— agement. ‘ g

The short course concept has caught on. Government agencies, industries and professional associations have approached the Univer- sity to develop and teach~ courses tailored to the specific needs of their emp— loyees or members; In order to accommodate this kind of request, contract courses ‘evolved. Under this arrange- ment, the University offers the requested course and the contracting agency pays

The cadre, Feb. 25,‘1975, page 5

0:”qu Year:

a fee for the service. Sometime between five and

'seven each evening the Univ—

ersity of Guelph campus _ undergoes a subtle transfor- mation. Jeans—clad undergr- ads disappear into library carrels, residences, or the pub and Guelphites of every description settle into lecture halls for non—credit courses on subjects from film to finance. From the 16—year—old discussing human sexuality to the 75-year— old studying China, these people share a common goal

- to expand their awareness through continuing study.

an—credit education is a thriving expanding, excit- ing facet of the university. It is an area that shows promise for expansion and change in the coming decade particularly in the sphere of professional development programs.

Professor waldron asserts "I feel very strongly that the university should cont— inue to make available to! the people in the community its facilities and personnel in areas where we have a

_special contribution to

make."

As a member of the univer— sity community I Would like to request to the Senate 'Committee that this area of education be seriously looked into and possibly

,a pilot project be set-up

for a period of 2—4 years to test this form of educa- tion. The system at Guelph could be used as an example because it does prove that education is a life—long learning process and not just something acquired lthrough a few years of

*university training. A defi—

nate setting—up of this

form of education could only end up benefitting not only the university, but all of Prince Edward Island. After all, it was the people of PEI who enabled this univer- sity to be, through legisl- ation, so we owe them some— thing in return for this

priviledge. I '

Fumour Has.it that certain facets of the university will be investigated by a U.S. Congressional Committee because there are an awful lot of things going on here that are similar to things that went on in Washington before Nixon was impgached.