Who Teaches OCE Courses

Offering courses and programs through the Office of Continuing Education is one of the significant ways in which UIC faculty strive to fulfill UIC’s urban mission. Faculty from all areas of the University, many of them recognized nationally and internationally in their fields, design curriculum and teach in a wide range of programs that address the post-graduate educational needs of Chicago’s professional community.

Faculty involved in OCE courses and programs include:

Rebecca Hendrick, Associate Professor
Public Administration

George Beam, Associate Professor
Public Administration

Michelle Bulanda, Clinical Instructor
Physical Therapy

Barry Chiswick, Distinguished Professor and Head
Economics

Carmen DiGiovine, Research Associate
Disability and Human Development

Naomi D. Fisher, Director, MER Forum
Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science

Marquis Foreman, Professor and Assiciate Dean for Nursing Science Studies
Nursing

Wade Freeman, Associate Professor Emeritus
Chemistry

Miguel Gonzalez-Meler, Assistant Professor
Biological Sciences

Glenn Hedman, Clinical Assistant Professor
Disability and Human Development

Kathy Hooyenga, Clinical Instructor
Disability and Human Development

Brian Hosmer, Associate Professor
History

Robert Johnston, Associate Professor
History

Steve Jordan, Professor
Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science

Andreas Linninger, Associate Professor
Bioengineering

John Masley, Lecturer
Math, Statistics and Computer Science

Michael Newman, Adjunct Assistant Professor
Architecture

Taffy Raphael, Professor
Education

Helen Roberts, Clinical Professor
Economics

Bonnie Saunders, Clinical Associate Professor
Math, Statistics and Computer Science

William Schubert, Professor
Education

Keith Thiede, Associate Professor
Education

Avrum Weinzweig, Professor
Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science

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MICHELLE BULANDA, PT, MS 
Continuing Professional Education in Physical Therapy
Michelle Bulanda is managing the Continuing Professional Education program at the UIC Department of Physical Therapy. Through her work in the department, as a practitioner at the UIC Child and Family Development Center, and as a hands-on teacher, she truly impersonates the program’s guiding theme of “Research. Practice. Education.” Read more...

HARRIET WADESON, Professor Emerita
20th Annual Art Therapy Summer Institute
Harriet Wadeson is running the UIC Art Therapy Summer Institute at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, which is in its 20th year in 2004. The Professor Emerita recently retired from 23 years of teaching Art Therapy at UIC. Over the past two decades, her graduates have established successful programs all over Chicago. Throughout her career, Professor Wadeson has lectured and presented all over the world, and published five books and countless articles. Read more... 

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MICHELLE BULANDA, PT, MS 
Continuing Professional Education in Physical Therapy
Michelle Bulanda is managing the Continuing Professional Education program at the UIC Department of Physical Therapy. Through her work in the department, as a practitioner at the UIC Child and Family Development Center, and as a hands-on teacher, she truly impersonates the program’s guiding theme of “Research. Practice. Education.”

Q: The Physical Therapy department at UIC started its Continuing Professional Education program in fall 2002. What was the motivation?
We started the program so that we can offer high quality continuing education courses to physical therapists, especially our alumni.

Q: Who is your audience?
We are targeting physical therapists in the Chicago area.

Q: Why do practicing physical therapists need your program? 
Since recently in Illinois, physical therapists are required to have 40 hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license. This is one of the reasons we decided to start offering courses.

Q: What sets your program apart from other professional development offerings in the Chicago area? Why should physical therapists choose UIC?
We have well known faculty in the areas of pediatrics, adult neurology, ergonomics and women's health. Our courses are taught by experts who are doing the research, publishing and teaching.

We are committed to offering a high caliber of courses both in the faculty who teach and the evidence based information presented. Therapists who have been working in the field have probably been to many of the courses out there that seem to be repeated over and over. Our courses are based on the latest research and then applied to use in clinics.

Q: What are your future plans for the Continuing Professional Education program? 
To date we have only had half day or one day workshops. We would like to expand to 2-3 day workshops with perhaps a national audience.

Q: The guiding theme of your program is “Research. Practice. Education.” You are its personification. What’s the significance of each "pillar" for you, and how do you balance them?
The three themes are completely integrated for me. Working at the clinic helps me to be a better teacher and keep a pulse of the current issues faced by physical therapists. Practicing helps me know what information we still need to know about and helps me to understand and develop the questions needed to be answered by research. Research influences how I make decisions in the clinic and how to direct students learning to become physical therapists.

Michelle Bulanda, PT, MS, received her BS in Physical Therapy from Northwestern University in 1989 and her MS in Physical Therapy from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1998. She has been a faculty member at the UIC Department of Physical Therapy since 2000. As a practitioner, Michelle Bulanda provides physical therapy services to children and their families in the birth-through-three program at the UIC Child and Family Development Center.

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HARRIET WADESON, Professor Emerita
20th Annual Art Therapy Summer Institute
Harriet Wadeson is running the UIC Art Therapy Summer Institute at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, which is in its 20th year this summer. The Professor Emerita recently retired from 23 years of teaching Art Therapy at UIC. Over the past two decades, her graduates have established successful programs all over Chicago. Throughout her career, Professor Wadeson has lectured and presented all over the world, and published five books and countless articles. 
 
Q: You have been described as a pioneer of Art Therapy in this country. Take us back to the beginnings…
Art Therapy in the U.S. was begun by a handful of therapists working separately who came together in the 1960s with the establishment of the first journal in the profession and the formation of The American Art Therapy Association. The first masters degree programs in the field began shortly after.

Q: As a pioneer, what were your resources? Who and what inspired you?
I began my Art Therapy career in 1962 at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, MD, just outside Washington, DC. My mentor there was Art Therapy pioneer Hanna Kwiatkowska. I felt enormously privileged to be working on the leading edge of psychiatric research. I was hired by Lyman Wynne, MD, Ph.D., a luminary in family therapy. Because the field was just beginning, I had opportunity for research and much support from NIMH to publish. During my ten years there, I published 29 papers, mostly in psychiatric journals.

Q: Looking back, how far has Art Therapy come in terms of being a respected method of psychotherapy?
When I entered the field, hardly anyone had heard of Art Therapy. Since then, it has become a highly respected treatment method. For some populations, it is the treatment choice and the primary mode of intervention. When I first came to UIC in 1981, I visited treatment facilities to explain Art Therapy and request their acceptance of an Art Therapy intern.  Several years later, this was no longer necessary. Agencies were calling me asking for interns. The word had spread. Many interns were subsequently hired, and our graduates have established long running programs throughout the city. The profession now has several journals, many books on Art Therapy have been published, and graduate training programs have been developed throughout the country. Furthermore, U.S. Art Therapists are frequently invited to other countries in their eagerness to follow our lead and develop Art Therapy.

Q: What are the benefits of Art Therapy?
Although still a young profession, Art Therapy is an amazingly broad profession.  Because it is used with so many different populations in various settings, its goals and benefits differ according to client needs.  These benefits may include:  gaining insight, problem solving, increasing self esteem, enhancing communication, socialization, and fostering creativity.

Q: Describe the (almost historic) role of the UIC Art Therapy Summer Institute in the development of this field…
For almost 20 years, the Summer Institute has attracted students from all over the U.S., as well as from other countries. Participants have included art therapists, social workers, counselors, psychologists, teachers, and student in these disciplines. It has also included those interested in the field who want to take courses before entering a graduate training program. We have also brought in teachers from other parts of the country in an effort to get a mix of approaches and specializations. The result has been a heterogeneous learning community with both formal and informal interchange of ideas. As we created art together and lived together, we have fostered opportunity for both mentoring and significant peer interaction.

Q: In what respect is the teaching and learning experience unique during this one week intensive residential institute in the middle of summer?
There are several factors that make the Summer Institute a unique learning experience. First, being away from home and work responsibilities allows both participant and faculty to be fully present and devoted to the learning at hand.  Second, the beauty of the natural surroundings encourages relaxation and harmony within the environment and among the group. Third, creating and sharing art together and living together in this intense experience encourage bonding among the participants. Fourth, the nature of the teaching is participatory, interactive, and creative, rather than primarily didactic. The learning is profound and yet the students often feel as though they are on vacation. Some have reported that the Summer Institute has changed their lives.

Q: You recently retired from 23 years of teaching Art Therapy at UIC. What’s ahead?
I am continuing both national and international travel to teach and give presentations; I am continuing to write for publication; I will be teaching Art Therapy; and I hope to find more time to make art. 

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What is OCE?
The Office of Continuing Education (OCE) is an Academic Affairs unit, reporting to the Vice Provost for Graduate and Continuing Studies. OCE serves as a resource for academic units that wish to offer credit and noncredit courses to groups of working professionals needing university-level or continuing education credit for professional development purposes. OCE currently works with twelve colleges and twenty-three departments, as well as a number of institutes within UIC to offer academic coursework to an assortment of professionals, including Chicago area teachers, practicing physical therapists, nurses, and government employees. To learn more about the programs that currently are offered through OCE, we invite you to browse the course listings on our website. You will notice that they range from individual free-standing courses to sequences of courses leading to state-mandated endorsements and certification to entire degree programs.

How does OCE work?
By interfacing with many of the other administrative offices on campus, including Admissions and Records, Human Resources, and Academic Affairs, the Office of Continuing Education makes it possible for academic units to offer courses to a non-campus audience. The core administrative functions of OCE are:

Specifically for credit courses:

• Admit students to the University with an expedited nondegree admissions process 
• Create course sections that assess the extramural per credit hour tuition rate
• Coordinate registration of students into Banner

For both credit and noncredit courses:

• Collect extramural tuition or course fees
• Process instructor payments 
• Communicate with students and coordinate student services as needed

OCE also participates in the planning, development and mounting of these continuing education programs, from assisting departments with program definition to coordinating the small but equally important program details. A team of OCE program coordinators is responsible for working with each of the individual colleges to provide the following support:

• Assess and advise on program feasibility
• Assist in identifying audiences
• Assist with market research and analysis
• Advise on, create, and implement advertising for the program
• Coordinate the development of contractual agreements when necessary
• Identify sustainability issues for programs with extended coursework (or special cohorts)
• Identify and facilitate student services

What should I do if I want to offer a course through OCE?
In all cases, OCE works through academic departments in mounting courses for external audiences. If you are a faculty member and have an idea for a continuing education program or know of a specific audience that needs coursework for professional development, present your ideas to the person in your department responsible for continuing education or outreach programs. Once you have department approval, contact Nancy Downs, Assistant Director for Program Development and Coordination at (312) 996-5749 to arrange for a program planning meeting. 

It is best to begin planning as early as possible. Allow at least four months for program planning and development. Do note that if you are offering a program in conjunction with an outside partner or if the program involves extended coursework, the amount of lead time required increases substantially. If students need to apply for degree status, the individual College deadlines for applying for admission to the Graduate College will apply.

How should I prepare for the program planning meeting?
The following program planning document will help you anticipate some of the questions that will be addressed at the initial program planning meeting with OCE. The document is organized around five key areas that are relevant to every continuing education program. Although we will customize it for your individual program, the general questions listed here will give you an overall idea of the issues involved in offering continuing education courses. 

PROGRAM PLANNING DOCUMENT:

AUDIENCE

• Who is the audience for the course? Be as specific as possible.
• How have you assessed the need for the course you are proposing?
• How does the proposed course meet that need?  
• Is credit required, or would noncredit coursework be more appropriate for this audience?

COURSE/COURSES

• If credit, what specific course or set of courses in your college curriculum do you plan to use?
• Does this course or courses fulfill the requirements of this professional audience?

FACULTY

• Is there faculty available to teach the course/courses?

FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS 

• All courses offered through OCE are self-supporting. Tuition income must meet or exceed program expenses (typically instructional expenses) for courses to proceed. 
• Are students paying the tuition costs themselves?
• Has outside funding been identified (employer, grant, or other institution such as CPS) to underwrite part or all of the cost of tuition?

MARKETING

• How will you identify potential students to let them know about the program?
• Do you have funds to underwrite marketing expenses?

Download the Program Planning document as a Word document.

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