Continuing Education

The College of Continuing Education is unique among the colleges at Northern. It has neither a faculty nor a list of classes. The College administers off-campus credit courses for the other colleges throughout the northern Illinois region. Its courses include all those offered by academic departments and it enlists the services of the entire University faculty. Continuing education at Northern began in the 1930's with the offering of a few extension courses. A full-time Director of Extension was named in 1950 and Evening College responsibilities were assigned in 1953. The Student-at-Large office was added in 1965 and allowed students to take graduate courses without being enrolled in a degree program. The College was formally established in 1966 with three divisions: Extension, Adult Education, and the Evening College. The following offices became part of the College: Community Service and Illinois Council on Economic Education (1973); DuPage County Outreach (1974); Public Service Bureau (1977). In 1990 Provost Kendall Baker began a major restructuring of the College which concluded in 1991 with the demotion of its dean and the disestablishment of the College. In 1992 decentralization of the various offices took place under a new Division of Continuing Education which worked closely with the deans of all other NIU academic colleges. In 2002 the functions of Continuing Education were placed under the umbrella of Outreach Services.

Note written by