CSU Launches Center for Lifelong Learning

By Taylor Stuck

A new kind of learning is launching at Clarks Summit University. The school is releasing its Center for Lifelong Learning with four available microcourses and plans for more to follow. Microcourses are short, video based online courses for adult learners who want to gain more training in their current area of focus or reskill and broaden their knowledge.

“Not everyone needs a comprehensive degree program to accomplish their goals,” says Erica Young, executive director of online learning at CSU. Microcourses are designed to provide the community with a learning option that can fit easily into an already busy schedule. “Microcourses are a flexible, less expensive alternative to traditional degree programs and afford learners with the ability to obtain skills quickly through small blocks of education.”

CSU’s first set of microcourses will offer practical skills from highly credentialed experts on topics such as homeschooling, lay counseling, resume building and streaming entertainment. Each of these courses is open enrollment, so learners will be able to register at any time and work at their own pace over a 60-day period. The microcourses’ short videos will provide real-world scenarios and advice to help students apply what they learn to their lives and ministries.

CSU’s first four available microcourses are:

• “People Helping People: Building Your Counseling Toolbox” with Dr. Wayne Slusser
• “How to Start Homeschooling in Pennsylvania” with Darlene Catlett
• “Writing Resumes That Get Results” with Grace Dyson
• “Against the Current: Entertainment Discernment in a Streaming Society” with Joshua Littler

As the Center for Lifelong Learning grows, Young’s vision is to expand the range of topics that CSU offers on relevant topics for learners today. The current focus of the microcourse launch is on learners’ personal developments. However, in the future, the university hopes to also offer certificates.

Young is excited for the launch of these new opportunities that will allow community members to learn through CSU in the three to eight hours it takes to complete a microcourse. She says: “my hope is to serve alumni and to keep them engaged with CSU through these courses as they seek to be lifelong learners and grow in their ministry!” With practical information packed into manageable segments of time, learners will be able to learn skills to grow their knowledge to enhance their careers, ministries or personal life.

Check out all microcourse offerings here.