Center for Continuing Education records

Northeastern University's (NU) Center for Continuing Education (CCE) offered a variety of credit and non-credit evening classes for students and professionals.  The Office of Adult and Continuing Education (OACE) opened in 1960 under the direction of Dr. Albert E. Everett and offered non-credit evening courses for local professionals.  Its goal was to teach new and useful skills to individuals in the workforce or those about to enter it.  The non-credit courses set the OACE apart from NU's other evening programs, although it was also charged with promoting all evening courses at Northeastern (credit and non-credit) and supervising all evening programs for non-faculty staff members.  The OACE was comprised of four departments: Bureau of Business and Industrial Training, Special Programs in Cooperation with Civic Groups, Special Programs in Cooperation with Professional and Trade Groups, and State-of-the-Art Engineering (beginning in 1963).  These divisions evolved over time as the business world and the needs of the students changed.

Within its first year the OACE began branching out and campuses in Weston and Burlington were acquired in 1961 and 1964. In 1961 the University also opened Henderson House, located in Weston, Massachusetts, where OACE seminars and workshops were held.  Courses were also taught at high schools throughout eastern Massachusetts, and OACE educators conducted tailor-made seminars at corporate locations upon request.

In 1963, the OACE was renamed the CCE. Its responsibilities were limited to offering non-credit courses to meet the needs of a largely professional student body, and University College took over all promotional and supervisory functions.  The breadth and diversity of course offerings in the 1960s and early 1970s testify to the CCE's flexibility. The CCE began offering courses geared toward women, minorities, and young people, in addition to offering practical business courses. By 1964, the Bureau of Business and Industrial Training was conducting 70 programs within 27 different companies to upgrade the skills of their personnel. In addition to focusing on specific corporations, the CCE developed advanced curricula for specific types of businesses. In 1967 Project Gap was initiated to provide recent graduates with the practical skills needs for employment. In response to the needs of the Boston-area community, professional associations, and local businesses, the CCE developed a number special seminars and programs, such as the Small Business Institute, the Labor Relations Forum, Federal and State Tax forums, CPA review programs, Nursing Home Administration programs, the X-Ray Technology program, the Electron Microscopy program, the Chefs Institute, the Urban Transportation Management Institute, the Medical Laboratory Assistants program, the Dental Assistants program, training programs for Volunteer Service Coordinators, and numerous seminars addressing minorities in businesses and problems in the urban environment.

Although registration in the CCE's programs never significantly declined, by 1973 it was losing money, so the CCE was incorporated into University College.  This merger allowed the CCE to add more teaching locations, expand some existing programs, and increase advertising.

In 1986, CCE became a separate unit again from University College. Led by Ray Williams, CCE focused on noncredit programs for professional development, which allowed the University College to focus on for-credit courses and certificate programs. CCE's programs were reclassified into the following categories: State-of-the-Art Engineering, Building Technology, Business, Emergency Medical Training, Graphic Arts, Health Management, Nursing, Paralegal Studies, and Test Preparation. CCE also developed a relationship with Network Northeastern, which broadcasted live courses directly to companies in the Boston area. In this period, the CCE was alternatively called the Division of Continuing Education.

As part of President Curry's "smaller but better" strategy, in 1995 the CCE was again brought under the University College, creating a single adult education unit. As a result, some CCE programs were eliminated.