U5 Point Learning
Building Expertise Across Continuing, Professional and Workforce Education
U5 Point Learning programs help participants develop a stronger understanding of noncredit education as both an educational practice and an institutional responsibility. Learning opportunities examine the purposes noncredit education serves, the learners and communities it supports, the systems through which it operates, and the questions of quality, equity, credibility, and public purpose that shape its future.
An Invitation to Learn
Noncredit education is often discussed as a collection of programs, credentials, or administrative functions. It is also a significant form of education with its own history, practices, challenges, and possibilities.
INE invites learners, professionals, and institutional leaders to study the field more seriously, question inherited assumptions, and participate in shaping what noncredit education may become.
Adult and Continuing Education for New Practitioners
August 3-October 20, 2027
A 12-week, in-depth microcredential delivered online through instructor-led learning.
Accepting wait-list requests. Registration opens February 2, 2027.
View our Virtual Flyer: Adult and Continuing Education for New Practitioners
Course topics include
The history, development, and evolving role of noncredit education
Continuing, professional, and workforce education within higher education
Adult learners, adult learning, and lifelong learning
Program development, instructional design, and educational quality
Program budgets, financial planning, and financial reporting
Technology platforms and software systems for noncredit education
Artificial intelligence in noncredit program development, administration, and learner support
Public funding and reimbursement programs, including state workforce initiatives, Workforce Pell, and WIOA
Certificates, certifications, digital badges, microcredentials, and other forms of learning recognition
Institutional structures, policies, administrative practices, and operations
Employer, industry, and community partnerships
Relationships and pathways between noncredit and credit-bearing education
Required Textbook
Planning Programs for Adult Learners: A Practical Guide, Fourth Editionby Sandra Ratcliff Daffron and Rosemary S. Caffarella.
Companion Guide
A Practical Field Guide to Leading and Administering Noncredit Education in Colleges and Universities by Nancy M. Pratt. U5 Point Publications. Included with registration.