Report on continuing education finds plenty of enthusiasm, but many barriers to success

While professional, continuing, and online (PCO) unit programs are enticing to postsecondary institutions looking to bring in learners through new avenues, a recent report drawing on the response of 140 institutions has found that these programs face numerous challenges to being successful. Over 90% of institutions said that they had launched continuing education with the primary goal of revenue generation. However, despite high levels of support from senior leadership, continuing education departments were often not well integrated into the broader institution and frequently faced issues such as administrative burden, inadequate staffing, siloing, and poor access to enrolment data. The report was conducted by Modern Campus and involved partners such as the Canadian Association for University Continuing Education (CAUCE).