By
Rebecca Missel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Non-credit courses offer enrichment, flexibility
When the Extension University began in 1912 as an arm of the University of Arizona, it functioned much like a community college, offering job training with a more flexible schedule.
Now, with 22,000 students and more than 150 non-credit classes, students can study computers, perfect writing skills and learn about the arts and humanities.
"On one side we offer classes designed for professional development such as computer education and business writing," said Mary Lindley, assistant dean for non-credit programs at the Extended University. "On the other side we have personal development courses that include arts and humanities."
Additionally, the Extended University offers courses specifically designed for senior citizens and children.
"My impression is that we don't get a large population of traditional UA students because they don't get credit," she said. "By and large our student population is senior citizens, working professionals and families - it's a good cross-section of local people."
Since the Extended University is a self-supporting unit, receiving less than 10 percent of their budget from state funds, no tuition waivers apply to the classes. The courses vary in cost but the average is about $125 per course, Lindley said.
The duration of classes at the Extended University varies greatly. Writing, arts and humanities classes usually last six to eight sessions, whereas computer workshops often only meet once or twice.
Accelerated language courses offer students a vocabulary of 400 words and phrases after only 30 hours of instruction over two weekends.
One of the primary attractions of Extended University is the unique collection of courses offered. For example, in the arts and humanities program students can learn about everything from Gregorian chanting to bread baking to forensic anthropology.
"We survey students after each class and ask them what they want to study next," said Susan Dick, program development specialist for the arts and humanities division.
"It's the most fun for faculty to teach something they are not able to during the regular semester," Dick said.
Al Leonard, professor in the University of Arizona classics department, teaches a class at the Extended University titled Fine Dining in the Ancient World. The course examines the eating habits of people in Egypt, Greece, Rome and Mesopotamia over the last several millennia.
"We look at traditional diets of ancient people and information from archaeological digs or wall paintings and assemble what they could have made with the ingredients on hand," Leonard said.
After compiling the ingredient lists, the class creates recipes based on these foods. Learning about ancient cultures gives a better understanding of current society, Leonard said.
"It puts us, as human beings, in perspective," he said. "For example, the Mesopotamians began brewing beer 5,000 years ago."
For Imra Ben-Ami, a professor at the Extended University, the school offers a different teaching environment with more emphasis on enrichment learning.
"You have a group of people that want to be there, not people that have to be there," said Ben-Ami who has previously taught Hebrew and Judaic studies at UA.
"Most of them (students) are very well-educated, they read a lot and have great experiences," she said. "But the best part is that I don't have to grade - no one can complain."
Now at the Extended University, Ben-Ami teaches a course on the daily lives of women in Biblical times.
"It's a different approach to stories that are well known," she said. "They come to life in a 21st century perspective."
