Dean James Malm is the director of the multifaceted Division of Continuing Education Program at CSU-Pueblo. He said his role is entrepreneurial with the goal of taking the expertise on campus and getting it out as far and wide as possible.
“The university works hard to fill seats and that is core,” Malm said. “CE can help certain folks; it doesn’t have its own faculty but it extends it (CSU-Pueblo) to some folks. CE is part of the ecosystem and can do special things. It’s the, oh by the way if you can’t go to class let’s see if this can help.”
CE is a cash-funded, self-supported program. Revenue is received from tuition that is charged for the various courses through several CE programs. Any excess revenue is required to be returned to the university, which has totaled approximately $5 million in the past five years, Malm said.
CE programs have about 15 thousand student enrollments per year, Malm said. Enrollments include students taking one class or multiple classes.
Tuition rates vary according to the program within CE, but they are kept as low as possible. Rates start at $49 per credit hour and go to $161 per credit hour, depending on the specific program.
Individuals can take university courses at remote locations through the CE programs. Courses are offered in the classroom, by correspondence, online or through conferences, workshops and seminars.
CSU-Pueblo’s Senior to Sophomore Program is tailored for high school students to take college level courses in their classrooms.
Malm said he praises that program as being the best fit for most school districts. He said it is a flexible program that works with school districts to help their students succeed.
CSU-Pueblo is committed to student learners, Malm said. “All of our students are welcome and all of them will succeed. We open our door wide and work harder once students are in to help them succeed,” he said.
Some CE programs are geared toward working adults such as the Colorado Springs Programs and the Military Base Program. These courses are taught in two eight-week sessions per semester or one 15-week session.
This fall semester 28 classes are being taught in the evenings at the Citadel Center. It is also starting two-way conference classes with the MBA program from CSU-Pueblo’s main campus.
Also, 15 classes are being taught at two military bases, Ft. Carson and Peterson Air Force Base, which are for active duty service personnel and their spouses. CE staff Michelle Wesolowski and Lee Ann Wade said they understand the struggles military personnel have to continue their education amid deployment and military moves. Their goal is to help individuals bridge the gaps and complete their education.
Many courses may also be taken by correspondence or online. By offering courses by correspondence, personnel can continue their education even if deployed to a remote location of the world with no Internet capability.
Independent Study courses are essentially correspondence courses offered by the CE program that can be taken simultaneously with courses taken on campus. Individuals enrolled at other universities can also take these courses.
Individuals can take one course or even complete an entire degree through the CE programs.
Another CE program, The Teacher Education Institute and Graduate Workshop, is geared for teachers needing to update their certification. These courses seek to create enriching learning experiences for participants.
One such course is The Adventure Education Institute, Malm said. It was proposed to take the Colorado mountains as the setting, add Olympic Training Center athletes and coaches and a Ph.D. geologist and have these experts talk about their fields of expertise, he said.
They hired a local outfitter to rent bikes and vans and took participants to the top of Pikes Peak. Individuals from the Olympic Training Center talked to participants about fitness, nutrition and altitude training as they biked down from the top of Pikes Peak. Along the trail, the geologist lectured about rock formations, Malm said.
The result of a course like The Adventure Education Institute was another exposure of the community to the university, Malm said. “We are so much more. It’s our way of being comprehensive and engaging with the community.”
For more information about any of the CE programs, contact the Continuing Education department. Call 719-442-2264 or e-mail [email protected].
