It’s a word we’ve heard a lot lately. And when it comes to your career, nothing is more essential than learning the skills that will matter most in our new economy. While much has changed over these past few months, our mission to enhance lives and careers through professional education remains the same. Whether you need an industry certification, a digital badge in leadership, or skills training to enter a new field, the College of Professional Education (CPE) is your resource to make it happen.

In this catalog, you’ll find the courses that prepare you for essential careers in healthcare, technology, business, legal, and more. Many of our courses even help you stack credentials, so that you can enter a field quickly and begin working while you expand your skillset. One example is our new suite of CompTIA courses. If you want
to work in IT but don’t know where to begin, CompTIA IT Fundamentals+ gets you started. From there, you can branch out into A+, Network+, Security+, and beyond.

The future is yours. We can help you be ready.

Admission to Kennesaw State University is not required to enroll in certificates and courses offered at the College of Professional Education. See course details on cpe.kennesaw.edu for specific course requirements.

As I write this letter, I’m working from my home office, just like many of you. While these last few months have looked very different from what any of us could have expected, I think we have learned some important things during this time.

I believe that we have learned the importance of family, friends, and staying connected. As our OLLI
and Personal Enrichment courses moved online,
many of our instructors and students were at first apprehensive about distance learning. We quickly realized that it is a way to stay connected and continue learning together. Many of us even learned a new skill or two during this process. Now, my favorite part of the workday is my early morning team meeting with those who work in our Community department. We start

the day together virtually by having coffee and talking through our goals and tasks. It’s a great opportunity to meet each other’s families, children, and pets. You never know from day to day who may be popping in for the morning meeting! We also enjoy getting to know our instructors and students on a more personal level.

I have to admit that the online environment is a learning curve for many of us. This new reality requires staff, instructors, and students to be willing to tackle technology and embrace a new way of teaching and learning. We have run into a few technical issues along the way, but we find that staying engaged as a community far outweighs these small imperfections.

Now is the best time to learn a new skill, invest in a hobby, and, most importantly, continue to grow and seek knowledge. As we developed the courses that you will find in this newsletter, we thought about keeping students engaged and learning. Our future may look different, but it is still very bright. I encourage you to take a close look at our Community courses and pick something that will help you move you into the bright future to come. I look forward to seeing you in class soon.

Pat Walker
Program Manager, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI)