UC program in Fresno will help retrain workers

Posted at 08:01 AM on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009

The oldest and the newest campuses of the University of California will launch a new program in Fresno this summer that might help workers switching careers, moving up or trying to hang on to jobs during the recession.

Students can earn certificates of expertise after typically completing six to eight courses in fields such as solar energy and project management. More classes are planned for the fall, officials said.

UC Berkeley, which opened in 1868, and UC Merced, which opened in 2005, will jointly offer the continuing education and professional development program.

Officials from both campuses announced the new program Wednesday at the UC Merced Center on Shaw Avenue, where students will come for classes. They had no estimates about how many students would enroll this summer, but said the center can accommodate 225 to 375 students in the summer and fall.

The two schools started talking 18 months ago about the cooperative venture. It's taken on new urgency as the economy has sunk deeper into recession.

"I wish we could have done it earlier," UC Merced Chancellor Steve Kang said. "It's a sooner-the-better situation."

Students will not earn undergraduate or graduate degrees through the program.

It will take 18 months to two years for students to complete the certificate programs. Summer courses also will include counseling, digital publishing and computer systems and programming.

Courses will cost from $195 to more than $1,000, officials said.

UC Merced eventually will provide some professors and students who have completed doctoral degrees to teach courses.

However, industry experts will do most of the teaching. The UC Berkeley Extension program will oversee the academic content.

UC officials were asked whether their new program will undermine California State University, Fresno, by competing for the same workers who need job training.

"Our intention is absolutely not to undercut the local institutions ... but to complement their offerings," said Diana Wu, dean of UC Berkeley Extension.

UC officials are trying to offer courses not already available at Fresno State or community colleges in the central San Joaquin Valley, Wu said.

Fresno City College has been looking into offering green technology courses, but no decisions have been made, spokeswoman Kathy Bonilla said.

A top Fresno State official said she welcomes the new program.

"There is always room for helping our citizens become more knowledgeable," said Berta Gonzalez, associate vice president in the division of continuing and global education. "If the courses meet the market demand, people will take them."