By Lookout Staff
November 27, 2018 -- Santa Monica College (SMC) is offering free non-credit programs for California residents wishing to enter fields as varied as rehab therapy and bicycle maintenance.
The five short-term vocational and workforce programs prepare adults 18 and older for "entry-level or higher employment, as well as preparation for college," school officials said.
The programs "help the college fulfill the goal of meeting the educational needs of the broadest possible cross-section of our communities,” said Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery, SMC Superintendent/President.
 |
| Non-credit ESL Class at Santa Monica College (Courtesy SMC) |
The Santa Monica Regional Consortium for Adult Education -- which receives state funding for the programs -- is composed of SMC’s Noncredit Programs and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified District (SMMUSD)’s Adult Education Center.
“SMC’s partnership with the SMMUSD to expand access to quality adult education and provide adults a fast track to employment is an example of collaboration that works,” Jeffery said.
The five programs are Bicycle Maintenance, Business Essentials, Customer Service, Introduction to Early Care and Education and Rehabilitation Therapy Aide.
The five programs are made up of a sequence of two or three courses that can be completed in a year or less.
"Noncredit courses do not award college credits towards a degree, and are not designed as substitutes for credit courses," officials said.
Instead, they "are intended for those who want to prepare for college courses, learn or upgrade a professional skill, and/or for their own personal enrichment."
The new programs will be offered during the spring semester, which starts February 11. Enrollment is ongoing, officials said.
Six other noncredit programs will be launched no later than fall 2019 in the areas of Amazon Web Services cloud computing, Gerontology, Sustainability, and Transition to College and Career.
Current SMC students enrolled in credit courses can sign up for the noncredit programs through the college’s student portal Corsair Connect.
Prospective students new to SMC can contact the SMC Noncredit Registration Office by emailing Gonzalez_Nataly@smc.edu or Jauregui_Luis@smc.edu, or by calling 310-434-3399.
