Overview of OCE
Offering Programs or Courses through OCE
Overview of OCE
What is OCE?
The Office of Continuing Education is a constituent unit of the School of Continuing Studies that is housed in the Office of Academic Affairs and reports to the Vice Provost for Planning and Programs. OCE works with academic units to offer credit and noncredit courses to working professionals needing university-level or continuing education credit for professional development purposes. OCE currently works with eight colleges and fifteen departments, as well as institutes and centers within UIC to offer academic coursework to a variety of professionals, including Chicago area teachers, practicing physical therapists, nurses, professionals who work with clients who utilize assistive technology, and incoming MSW students.
To learn more about the coursework offered through OCE, visit the Programs page or the Courses page. Offerings 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 for credit courses are:
- Admit students to the university through an expedited nondegree admissions process
- Assign a unique program code that assesses an extramural per credit hour tuition rate
- Register students into Banner
- Return 75% of extramural tuition to college/department, less the direct program expenses paid by OCE (i.e. instruction, marketing, etc.) of offering the course(s)
- Accept payment from students online for extramural tuition or course fees
- Process instructor payments
- Communicate with students and coordinate student services as needed
The core administrative functions of OCE for noncredit courses are:
- Accept payment from students online for course fees
- Process instructor payments
- Communicate with students and coordinate student services as needed
OCE also participates in planning and development of continuing education programs, from assisting departments with program definition to coordination and implementation. 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, including financial viability and budget development
Assist with market research and analysis
Assist with the development of marketing plans
Develop a timeline for program planning and implementation
Coordinate the development of contractual agreements when necessary
Identify sustainability issues for programs with extended coursework (or special cohorts)
Identify and facilitate student services
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Offering Programs or Courses through OCE
What should I do if I want to offer a course through OCE?
If you are a faculty member who would like to offer programming to a non-campus audience, the first place to start is in your home department. Discuss your idea with your department head, and once you receive approval, contact the OCE program coordinator responsible for your college:
- Kate Handfelt, handfelt@uic.edu, (312) 413-1787: Engineering, Public Health
- Danila Miranda, danila@uic.edu, (312) 355-5286: Liberal Arts & Sciences, Nursing
- Janette Salamanca Maldonado, janette@uic.edu, (312) 355-2281: Applied Health Sciences, Business Administration, Social Work, Urban Planning and Public Affairs
- Laurie Sullivan, sulliva2@uic.edu, (312) 413-2397: Education, Medicine
Your OCE program coordinator will ask to meet with you for a one-hour discovery session to explore your ideas in terms of your goals and the resources required to achieve these goals. Following the discovery session, you and your department head will receive a preliminary report with our assessment of the ideas you presented and their potential for helping you achieve your long and short-term goals. Upon review of the assessment and agreement by OCE and your department head, next steps would include the development of an implementation timeline and a preliminary budget. It is best to begin planning as early as possible. Our experience recommends that you allow at least six months for program planning and development. Please note that if you hope to offer 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.
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