This content was published: June 23, 2008. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Learning for Life
Story by Christina Holmes. Photos by Jerry Hart.
Want a medical prescription for delaying the effects of aging and avoiding dementia? Pick up the Community Education schedule.
Seriously. Medical studies have shown that if you keep learning, you are literally exercising your brain: becoming scientifically “smarter” and staving off dementia.
Take the story of Kathleen Kuba. There is a certain ritual she follows each time PCC’s Community Education quarterly schedule arrives in the mail. She thumbs through the pages, stops at classes that pique her interest and then zeroes in on the location and time to make sure it fits into her busy life.
She’s repeated the routine dozens of times during the last decade and found herself in classes that span the spectrum – everything from financial planning to ballroom dancing to singing for the vocally challenged to tai chi (one of her all time favorites).
“This is a niche that PCC has filled in terms of offering good instruction in the community on a number of different topics,” said Kuba, a student employment specialist who moved to Portland from Hawaii. “You just can’t beat the quality of education and the prices.”
And she adds that the non-credit, short term courses are ideal for her. “As I get older I want to make shorter commitments to the classes I take.”
Kuba is among the 33,000 students who search out Community Education classes each year. The college offers an estimated 1,800 classes each term, featuring hundreds of topics – think Bosnian, Croatian or Serbian language classes to money folding origami to computer courses to hardwood floor installation. Community education classes have something for just about everyone.
“Community Education is especially for people who want to learn something new and meet new people,” said Nan Poppe, president of PCC’s Extended Learning Campus, which includes the Community Education department. “We’re a vital part of the community and provide thousands and thousands of people the opportunity to further their individual journey of lifelong learning.”
Each term students can choose from non-credit classes that are just for fun or for personal and professional enrichment. No grades or tests – just an opportunity to expand their mind, engage in a unique activity or learn something new. Classes are available during the day and in the evening, weekdays and weekends. Some classes are one-day workshops or several sessions, while others are as long as 10 weeks. Plenty of online classes are also available.
Classes are held at PCC campuses and centers, private businesses, community centers, libraries and other locations in the metropolitan area, and are self-supporting, which means tuition and fees cover the cost of offering classes.
Current classes with a strong following are woodworking, digital photography, language, travel, creative arts and anything related to earth-friendly sustainability. Also expected to be hot trends during the next year are classes attracting the Baby Boomer audience such as retirement planning and finding second or third careers.
Of course, the mainstays that keep students returning are classes on cooking, wine, art, health and fitness, personal development, career exploration, music and computers.
Last year PCC launched a new campaign called Project: YOU. Students are encouraged to think about something they’ve always wanted to learn but never had a chance to take. For inspiration they look through the class schedule or search online for that perfect class.