Undergraduate Catalog 2016-2017 
    
    Jul 26, 2024  
Undergraduate Catalog 2016-2017 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Public Services


http://www.westga.edu/conted

Traditionally, public institutions of higher education state that they exist for the purpose of instruction, research, and public service. The public service mission has been paramount at West Georgia since its beginning. The faculty and staff have become well known for their efforts in extending the University into the communities of the West Georgia region. Furthermore, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia has placed special emphasis upon the role of public service and continuing education to serve as a catalyst for economic development.

Continuing Education and Public Services have emerged as an extension of the traditional on-campus learning process, available to adults wherever sufficient interest has been found. The Continuing Education/Public Services Department is responsible for coordinating and providing support relating to cooperative vocational and professional programs, institutes, workshops, conferences, and other community educational programs. Short courses and other non-credit studies, such as in-service training and customized training to local business and industry, are responsibilities of the Department of Continuing Education. Courses are conducted on campus and off campus with some in-plant workshops held at various facilities throughout the area and regularly feature West Georgia faculty as instructors.

The Department of Continuing Education

Traditionally, public institutions of higher education state that they exist for the purpose of instruction, research, and public service. The public service mission has been paramount at West Georgia since its beginning. The faculty and staff have become well known for their efforts in extending the University into the communities of the West Georgia region. Furthermore, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia has placed special emphasis upon the role of public service and continuing education to serve as a catalyst for economic development.

Continuing Education and Public Services have emerged as a non-degree extension of the traditional learning process. The Department of Continuing Education is responsible for the assessment, development, and implementation of non-degree programs for those who wish to improve their job skills or otherwise enhance their personal development. This includes the coordination of community educational programs, institutes, workshops, conferences, and specialized training programs which serve as a catalyst for economic development.

Continuing Education Unit

The Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is defined as ten contact hours of participation in a qualified continuing education program. The CEU is recognized as the national standard for measuring an individual’s participation in and an institution’s production of non-degree programs. The CEU may be used within an institution in at least three ways. First, the CEU serves as a unit of measure to recognize an individual’s participation in non-degree activities that meet appropriate criteria. Second, the CEU may serve as the accounting unit of the institution’s total non-degree courses, programs, and activities. Third, the implementation of CEU criteria provides the basis for quality assurance in continuing education programming. The University of West Georgia follows the criteria and guidelines as set forth by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.