Summary

This dossier highlights current issues related to continuing education in colleges and universities and suggests courses of action to foster student success in a lifelong learning context.


Three issues are addressed in this dossier, namely:

1. The isolation of continuing education in colleges and universities;

2. The diversity and valorization of learning in non-credited programs, and

3. The barriers to and the conditions facilitating student success in continuing education.

A summary of the concepts of lifelong learning and recognition of prior learning and acquired competencies (RAC) complete the presentation of the issues at stake. Finally, this dossier offers some prospective reflections on the role of continuing education in colleges and universities as part of the ecological transition.

Background

Continuing education, a variety of educational projects

In the province of Québec, continuing education refers to diverse realities depending on the level of education and institutions. For several university institutions, it includes all short-term programs that do not lead to a degree, while for others the term refers to non-credited programs only, such as professional development activities. At the college level, continuing education includes both short-term credited and non-credited programs, as well as training offered to businesses to meet their skills development needs. In higher education, although the continuing education sector is integrated into the institutional organizational structure, it is generally a separate entity within institutions.

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