Continuing Education

Degree: Bachelor of General Studies

Contact: Information Desk

Office: 358 N. Pleasant St.

Phone: 545-2414

E-mail: contined@admin.umass.edu

Website: www.umass.edu/contined

For over 25 years, the Division of Continuing Education, a University Outreach unit, has provided access to the academic resources of the University to those people of the Commonwealth who are not full-time degree students, to local and national business firms throughout the state, and to the general community. An administrative arm of Academic Affairs, the Division works closely with the various academic units in planning and offering credit and noncredit programs to meet the needs of nontraditional students.

Continuing Education meets the educational needs of more than 15,000 people each year with a variety of programs that include evening credit courses during the fall and spring semesters; University summer and winter sessions courses; access to specialized on-campus and off-campus undergraduate and graduate degree programs; professional development programs and workshops; certificate programs; independent study courses and internships; specialized courses designed to meet specific needs; noncredit workshops in the areas of English as a Second Language, personal enrichment, career and personal development, and recreation; and online courses. The Performing Arts Division (PAD) provides music, theater, and dance instruction to students of all ages and all levels of ability. PAD offers private and group instruction and recital experience to students on campus and people in the community who do not otherwise have the opportunity to study with resident faculty.

Any person who has graduated from high school or has a certificate of General Educational Development (G.E.D.) may enroll in un- dergraduate courses through the Division. Admission to a degree program (matriculation) follows general University admissions guidelines.

Online Courses and Degree Programs

Undergraduate- and graduate-level courses are offered online at the University's virtual campus, accessed at www.UMAmherstOnline.org. Twenty to thirty courses are offered each semester, as well as during summer and winter sessions. Three graduate degree programs are also offered online. The accelerated M.B.A. program is designed for professionals who want to continue their education in the management field. The Master of Science (Nursing) in Community/School Health prepares advanced-practice nurses as expert clinicians in the care of children, adolescents, and their families in diverse community and school health settings. The Master of Public Health provides graduate education for practicing professionals with relevant public health-related experience.

Online courses are developed and taught by resident University faculty and meet the same academic requirements as traditional on-campus courses.

Degree Programs

The Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.) is a University of Massachusetts degree available to part-time students through the Division of Continuing Education. The B.G.S. is flexible and responsive to special needs that cannot be met in traditional full-time day programs. It is specifically designed for people whose other responsibilitiesófamily, work, or other life circumstancesómake full-time work toward a degree difficult. The program of study is built around individual goals and interests. Every B.G.S. student receives personalized academic advising.

The B.G.S. with Individual Concentration allows students to design a program of study combining courses in two or more academic departments. Students work with an academic adviser and a faculty sponsor in one of the relevant departments to plan an academically sound concentration directed toward specific career goals or areas of interest.

Possible concentrations are almost unlimited. Past concentrations have included such areas as environmental waste management, arts administration, pre-law, human services administration, and horticultural therapy. The B.G.S. degree has been used advantageously by three different groups of Continuing Education students: 1) those who would like to orient their degree more specifically toward a career area that demands interdisciplinary study; 2) those who are already established in a career but would like the benefits of a general liberal arts degree; and 3) those who are looking for a specific match of disciplines not easily obtainable in a traditional single academic major. Academic advisers are available to help students with degree programs or courses related to their life and career objectives.

In collaboration with academic departments, the Division provides course access for several University degree programs: two specialized programs leading to the B.S. in Nursing (one for R.N.s without a B.S.N., and one for individuals who have a baccalaureate degree in a field other than Nursing); the part-time, off-campus professional M.B.A. offered by the Isenberg School of Mangement; the M.S. in Labor Studies offered by the Labor Relations and Research Center; the M.Mus. in Music Education offered by the Department of Music and Dance; the Soil Science Certificate and the M.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences, and the M.P.H. in Epidemiology, offered at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester as part of the degree program of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences.

The Division also provides access to the School of Education's postbaccalaureate teacher certification program. In collaboration with the University of Rhode Island, the Division provides some course access and administrative support on the Amherst campus for a program leading to an M.S. in Library and Information Studies at the University of Rhode Island.

Ongoing Division programs include the Arts Extension Service, which helps develop self-sufficient community-based arts programs and provides services and training for individual students, artists, and artist groups. The University's Family Business Center assists family-owned companies in recognizing their common problems and in finding solutions to the unique challenges confronting them. The center offers members an educational, interactive learning environment, including presentations by experts from the fields of psychology, management training and development, law, accounting, financial and estate planning, and banking.