By Lookout Staff

March 8, 2016 -- Santa Monica College's newly launched Extension Program has won the 2016 “Excellence in Community Education” award from the statewide Association of Community and Continuing Education (ACCE) for its “profound effect” on community education.

The program, which is part of SMC's Office of Workforce and Economic Development, offers not-for-credit classes and workshops for professional development and continuing education in a range of professions.

Among the more than 50 classes offered are Property Management, Import/Export, Computer, Internet, Social Media, Mediation, Customer Service, Entrepreneurial, Paralegal, Phlebotomy and Real Estate. Th extension also offers online classes that include bartending and exercise science.

“We’re honored to have received this award,” said Michelle King, SMC’s director of career and contract education. “This demonstrates that we’re going in the right direction and this brings new energy to our entire Community Education program.”

SMC Community Ed has released a catalog with "in-depth program descriptions of professional development and short-term, not-for-credit career training programs," college officials said.

The catalog is being mailed and distributed widely to reach "students and prospective students, industry partners, workforce training organizations" and others, she said.

“We believe this catalog is an excellent tool to reach deep into our community to let them know of the breadth and depth of career training programs we offer,” King said.

“This allows (it) to function in a very unique space,” King said, “as the catalog is one of the few college marketing tools that offers outreach to a wide cross-section of the local community.”

Designed for working professional, the extension classes are offered evenings, weekends, on-line and in the different campuses, officials said. Program offerings range from one-day workshops to short-term certificate programs.

The extension program, in partnership with Jewish Vocational Services, recently added the BankWork$ program, which will be offered at SMC’s Bundy Campus in May, college officials said.

For more information about SMC Extension and SMC Community Ed visit http://commed.smc.edu or call (310) 434-3400 or email commed@smc.edu.