The School of Extended Studies' overarching goal is to promote lifelong learning by meeting the needs of nontraditional students.

Novel programs make education accessible

Portland State University prides itself in its ability to serve a wide range of student populations. The School of Extended Studies plays a key role in this effort by offering distance delivery courses, evening courses, and a full summer program. The school's mission is served by four ready principles.

• Be innovative and flexible with courses.
• Reach out to diverse populations.
• Work with key community partners to develop curriculum and programs.
• Offer courses at a wide variety of times and places.

Summer spans the globe

Extended Studies works with PSU's schools and colleges to produce continuing education and summer programs for local, regional, and international audiences. Most summer students are seeking degrees. Other courses in continuing education are designed for the immediate needs of professionals. The special courses in professional development also reach an international audience.

Collaborations Open Up Education to All

Working with other academic units, SES strives to be innovative and flexible and responsive to the needs of constituencies. Programs are often designed using advisory boards representative of constituent interests along with faculty from related departments.

We often collaborate with outside faculty or community members when developing our curruculum to ensure that our courses meet customized needs. We work hard to ensure that our students see a direct connection between what they are learning and what they will be doing in the field upon completion of our courses.

Extended studies often takes its courses outside of the PSU campus to the communities where they are needed, for the school districts or businesses that need them. This connection with constituencies allows the school to customize programs, many of them delivered off-site for school districts and businesses.